Blue Feather
by Firewalk89
Summary: This story starts out in the alternate timeline of Life is Strange Episode 4. In this version of the alternate timeline however, Rachel Amber is not missing. Instead, Max finds herself now romantically involved with her. How will she deal with that and what effect will this have on the both of them? Rated M for language, brief horror, violence and sexual situations (non-explicit).
1. Consequences

It was like a flash of light. Suddenly, Max found herself sitting on the ground. She was outside the Blackwell school building. Her clothes didn't match anything that she would normally wear. A purple cardigan and jewelry were never her style. The good news was that she appeared to be back in the present. Now it was a matter of figuring out just how much she had changed reality. On her wrist, she noticed a curious looking bracelet. It was blue in color with leather ribbons. She could swear that she had seen it before. Around her, the entire Vortex Club elite was assembled: Courtney, Victoria, Taylor and also Nathan and a few others. Looking at Nathan, Max panicked for a moment, remembering her encounters with him vividly. Thankfully, he seemed rather comfortable and happy with himself and didn't seem to pay too much attention to her. For once, he didn't look like he was about to murder someone. That was different.

"Are you ok Maxine?", a voice said. Max turned to see none other than Victoria Chase sitting next to her, getting way too close to her face, with a slight expression of concern.

"Max. Never Maxine."

Getting up, Max noticed the sun started going down. It must have been late in the afternoon. A warm glow enveloped the entire schoolyard. It felt so peaceful, yet somber. She had to get to Chloe's place before dark.

"I knew we shouldn't have let her into the Vortex!", a voice proclaimed. It was Courtney, one of Victoria's lackeys.

"You don't want anyone in the Vortex Club Courtney!", Victoria replied.

It appears that Courtney was now running the Vortex Club.

Max didn't care about any of this and started walking away, trying to piece together what had just happened. She went back to the present. Or was it the future? Just thinking about it made her head spin. While the Blackwell campus seemed unchanged, it was clear that things weren't the same as when she left. William and Chloe must have been somewhere. Max wanted to immediately go to the Price's house to find out. As she headed to the bus stop, she spotted Warren holding hands with Stella. They were both smiling and had their eyes locked, having a pleasant conversation. A part of Max wanted to go up to Warren and ask what the hell this was about but realized that in this timeline, he probably never got interested in her, for whatever reason. He wouldn't even look at her as she passed them. As if they were strangers. Max wanted to be sad about this but somehow wasn't. Warren has always been a good friend to her but she never felt receptive towards his obvious advances. Apparently, the Max of this time was even less so. Either that or this Warren didn't care about her.

Right now, there was no time to dwell on this, she had a bus to catch. Chloe and William had to be out there.

* * *

Waiting for the bus, Max wondered how the hell she could ever be friends with the likes of Victoria, let alone the rest of the Vortex. After she witnessed what they had done to poor Kate Marsh, being friends with such people seemed impossible to her. But then again, Kate's attempt at taking her own life might not have occurred here. Still, what was she thinking? Or rather, what was her counterpart from this timeline thinking? It made her head hurt. A question for another time, Chloe was her priority now.

Max saw the school bus pull up to the curb to pick up the students. The driver wasn't who she expected though. It was David Madsen. It would appear Blackwell hired someone else as security in his place. It was no surprise, considering him and Joyce never hooked up. His life had taken a different path just as hers must have. With him not seeming to recognize her, Max was about to get on the bus when, out of nowhere, someone jumped her from behind. It wasn't in an aggressive kind of way, but rather a playful one.

"Hey selfie-queen, thought you could just leave without me?", an unknown voice said.

Max turned to see a strangely familiar face. She beheld a girl about her height and age with hazel-colored eyes and a blue feather dangling from her left ear, wearing a red and black flannel. Max recognized it as the same outfit she was wearing just a little while ago. It couldn't be. Was this Rachel Amber?

Max felt nervous and wasn't sure how to react. She was drop-dead gorgeous, even Max could admit that. Her missing person photo did not do her justice in the slightest. No wonder Rachel managed to turn everyone at Blackwell into a fan of hers, or a hater. Max also felt something strange, as if a powerful aura surrounded Rachel, something that defied description.

"Uh... a.. are you Rachel Amber?", Max managed to jumble.

Rachel raised an eyebrow in response.

"Did you hit your head taking pictures with your phone or something? Or did Victoria sneak something into your coffee this morning?", Rachel said.

Max noticed Rachel looking right at her as if her eyes were probing her mind. She couldn't explain it, but somehow it felt like Rachel was seeing right through her.

"Don't you remember that we wanted to hang out after school? We were going to walk into town for your weekly shopping spree, unless of course you made other plans?", she asked.

"Oh no, it's just that I didn't think I would see you today. But wowser, am I glad to. Chloe will be so happy to see you!", Max replied hastily.

Rachel angled her head slightly, apparently confused by what Max said.

"Who is Chloe?"

The words hit Max like flying bricks. Rachel had no clue who she was talking about, didn't she? After bending time and space, trying to change Chloe's life for the better and trying to find Rachel, this was it? They didn't know each other. How could that be?! Max wasn't about to give up just yet.

"Are you sure? She is a bit taller than you, blue hair and wears punk clothes. That and she's got hella attitude at times."

Rachel seemed to think for a second but then said, "No, I'm fairly positive I don't know her. I know everyone around here. But blue hair sounds badass, I admit."

Max could feel her stomach sinking. She somehow managed to find Rachel but yet failed at the same time. Life was so not fair. Her disappointed expression didn't escape Rachel's attention.

"Just what is going on with you Maxine? Do I need to worry about you?", a tone of genuine concern in her voice.

Overwhelmed by emotions of failure and sadness, Max felt herself tearing up and tried her best to wipe away the tears. She failed her best friend. Again. Even if she were to find Chloe now, how could she possibly explain to her what happened without sounding like a crazy person? Would she even listen? And most importantly, does she even know her in this reality? Rachel mattered so much to Chloe, how could she just take her away like this? Did Max just screw up everything? First, she abandoned Chloe for 5 years straight and now she also took away her lover. Way to go Supermax.

Suddenly, she felt a warming embrace. Rachel had laid her arms around her. Frozen like a deer in the headlights, Max wasn't sure what to feel. What was going on?

"You know you can trust me right? You always have. If there is something wrong, please tell me. You know I hate being left in the dark.", Rachel said almost in a whisper.

Max's mind was racing. Where she felt sadness a moment ago, she now felt utter confusion. Were her and Rachel best friends now or something? Or possibly even more than that? Her mind had a hard time processing this.

On the verge of freaking out, Max uttered: "I'm not sure if I understand it myself. Everything is so different now! How do I know that this isn't just a nightmare? What are we? Are you even real?"

Max looked down to the ground, feeling overwhelmed with the situation.

Rachel took hold of her arms. "A nightmare huh? Well, I think I know something that should snap you out of it and convince you otherwise."

"Like what?", Max asked with a slight hint of trepidation in her voice.

Before she could react, Max could feel making contact with Rachel's lips. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. It felt so weird and she was reminded of that time when Chloe had dared her to kiss her as well, which she did back then, but it didn't feel like this. This was less playful and felt more like a passionate kiss between lovers and it was way more intense. The experience felt like it should have been a familiar one to her, but it wasn't. Part of her wanted to wrestle free, the other wanted to endure.

When it was over, Rachel looked her dead in the eyes and asked: "How about now? Do you still think this is a nightmare?"

Max wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, the fact that someone could truly love her seemed so surreal, but on the other hand, she knew deep down that she had been craving this feeling her whole life, without knowing it. But she didn't know Rachel at all. Everything she ever knew about her came from Chloe and the people Rachel used to hang with. How was she gonna deal with this so suddenly? How can she avoid hurting Rachel's feelings? Someone who might as well be a total stranger to her. It made her mind numb. Then her conscience kicked in and reminded her why she came here. Although in the meantime, the bus had left the school grounds.

"Rachel, this is going to sound hella strange, but you got to believe me. I need to find Chloe. It's why I was about to get on the bus. I'm sorry that I cannot explain it better right now, but it is important that I get to her place as soon as possible."

Rachel's expression was hard to read, but it clearly was not the reaction she expected.

After a moment of thinking it over, she replied by saying, "Well, I'm a sucker for mystery, as you should know, so if it means this much to you, then fine, let's do it. Although it seems you missed your bus. I can give you a ride though."

Although she didn't say it, it was clear that there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

* * *

As they approached the parking lot, Max spotted Warren's old car. What she didn't expect was for Rachel to unlock it and get in. It appeared as though Warren had to find himself a different set of wheels this time around.

"Are you still planning that Vortex Club party for Halloween?.", Rachel asked.

"Party? Uh no. I'm not really in the mood for any parties right now."

"Well, that's a first. I'm sure your bootlicker Victoria will be all over that opportunity then."

There was no way Rachel would buy her story about rewinding time and traveling through pictures, so Max elected to not mention any of it, at least not yet, which became progressively harder as Rachel clearly became more suspicious. Eventually, she would have to come clean unless she wanted to be thought of as a lunatic. At the same time, Max found it hard to act like someone who she wasn't. Partying with the Vortex Club? Not in a million years! Especially not after what happened to Kate there.

"You are being so weird today. Are you suffering amnesia Maxine?"

Max turned to her saying, "I guess you could say that. It feels like a different world today. Like I woke up as someone else. And also, please just call me Max, never Maxine."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at that remark.

"Ok, now I _know_ something is wrong with you. You insisted on me calling you Maxine ever since we met online all those years ago. You really do seem like someone else today. I don't mean that in an offensive way, but I can't help but notice you know.", she said with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

After Max told her where to go, Rachel drove along the shoreline. Hopefully, Chloe's address didn't change. The view of the ocean was amazing as always, with the golden hue of the late afternoon sun painting an amazing image. What a perfect shot this would have made. Too bad she didn't carry her camera anymore. How could any version of her live without one anyway? Then she noticed a pod of beached whales, lined along the beach like logs. It was an unnatural and unsettling sight. Was the world just going completely stir-crazy? Flocks of seagulls swarmed over them like vultures. An image so majestic yet so dark. Evidently, the eco-disasters continued. Was the storm still coming? And what else would occur until then?

Then something else occurred to Max, "Hey Rachel? Do you know someone named Frank Bowers?"

"Can't say I do. Who is that?"

"It's not that important. I was just curious.", Max answered with an audible sigh of relief. That was one problem avoided.

"How was school?", Rachel asked her.

Max wasn't sure what to say. She had no clue what to say, considering she was unfamiliar with her schedule here.

"It was alright, I guess. Yours?"

"I nailed it in drama class, as usual. I really hope we get to do another performance soon."

So Rachel was into acting, something Max was not aware of. This caused her to become a bit more curious.

"What was your favorite role you ever played?", she asked Rachel nervously.

"I'm pretty sure I told you that, but it was the role of Prospera. Remember that I told you that a few years ago Blackwell adapted "The Tempest"? They had recast the role of Prospero to me. I would love to go back and do it all over again.", Rachel mused.

"That sounds cool, must have been quite the show.", Max said, before catching herself staring at the lighthouse in the distance.  
She didn't notice it, but Rachel kept giving her concerning glances all the way to Chloe's house.

* * *

Before getting out, Rachel said to Max: "I hope that whatever this is about will snap you out of it. I have never seen you being this strange before."

She did not reply, her mind being entirely focused on making sure that Chloe and William were alive and well. After getting out of the car, Max immediately recognized the house. It looked mostly the same, now sporting a full coat of blue paint and what seemed like a wheelchair ramp at the door. There was no doubt that this was the same building.

"Are you sure you want me to stay?", Rachel asked.

Max turned to her saying, "Yes, please. I absolutely need you to be here for this."

After ringing the doorbell, Max stood anxiously waiting to find the answer to her most important question. The waiting felt like hours when in reality only a few seconds had passed. Then, someone came and opened the door. It was William!

With an expression of pleasant surprise, he welcomed her.

"Max Caulfield! Back from taking a break after taking Seattle by storm? We thought we would never see you again after you left for the big city."

Shaking her head in disagreement, Max proclaimed, "No. I would never do that Chloe. Oh and this is Rachel, she is a friend of mine as well and I would like for Chloe to meet her too."

William took a step back inside the house.

"Speaking of... I know she's been dying to see you. Hold on." He turned around and yelled, "Chloe! You have visitors!"

What happened next, hit Max like a punch to the gut. There was Chloe, coming down the hallway. But she wasn't anything like Max remembered her. She was strapped to a wheelchair with a tube that was attached to her throat. It was obvious that she was not able to move. Gone were the blue hair, instead she donned her natural blonde and gone were the rebellious punk clothes and tattoos. Max couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand in shock. This is not how it was meant to be!


	2. Fury

Rachel didn't recognize this place that Maxine had decided to take her to. What exactly was she expecting to find here? They have never been here before and this is the first time she ever heard about it.

The man at the door seemed friendly enough and recognized Maxine when he saw her. They must have met at a time before her and Maxine got together from the sound of their conversation.

Maxine then introduced her to the man whose name was William.

"Oh and this is Rachel, she is a friend of mine as well and I would like for Chloe to meet her too."

Did Maxine just refer to her as just "her friend"? Usually, she would be all too happy to inform everyone that they were lovers, prejudice be damned.

Then suddenly, she noticed Maxine's expression changing from one of happiness to shock in just a flash and she looked like she just saw a ghost. Whatever she expected to find after arriving at this place, this was not it.

Someone in a wheelchair came to the door. This must have been this Chloe that Maxine went on and on about. Correction, it's just "Max" now, for some reason. It was not a dignified sight though.

Rachel found her to be quite pretty actually and she felt bad for her to be stuck like that. It turned out a car accident a few years ago was to blame for her condition. But she knew for sure that she never saw this girl before in her life.

* * *

After the two had reunited, Chloe suggested that they should take a walk along the beach, before the sun would set. Max was, of course, all for it and Rachel decided to play along, even though she wasn't really being included in the making of this decision. She wasn't really sure how to feel about all this. Just yesterday, they had planned on buying tickets to see Firewalk performing at a local venue and attending Vortex Club parties. Rachel loved Firewalk, she would always make sure to be there when they played in the area and so was her girlfriend. But now? It appears "Max" had forgotten all about this and just now suddenly remembered this old friend she once had and just had to see right away. Something didn't add up. This wasn't the Max she knew, for she would have filled her in when it came to decisions like this.

They strolled along the beach, taking in what was left of the light of the setting sun.

Chloe and Max just chatted away like the world was going to end tomorrow. While it is quite understandable that they had some catching up to do, Rachel couldn't help but feel like the third wheel on the wagon. Superfluous and unwanted. She followed them some distance behind.

"Chloe, are you sure you don't recognize Rachel at all?", Max asked her.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't. I can tell that this is important to you for some reason. Sorry to disappoint."

She then addressed Rachel directly by saying, "No offense. You seem like a good person. I'm glad she has made more friends. Anyone getting along with Max is cool to me."

Rachel nodded but remained silent. "Friend". There was that word again. That's not how she saw it. Ever since Max came back here, it has moved way beyond friendship. At least, that's what Rachel assumed until now. Did she take that for granted?

The group stopped at a particularly nice spot that offered the best view of the coast while the dead whales painted a gloomy picture.

"What do photographers call this again?" Chloe asked.

"The golden hour", Max replied.

This seemed like as a good time as any for Rachel to chime in.

"Quite appropriate. It is beautiful. As if the whole world is on fire without actually burning. Too bad it doesn't last long."

"Are you into photography too Rachel?", Chloe inquired.

"No, I don't have the patience for it. That is Maxine's...uh I mean Max's thing. But I gotta admit, sights like this almost make me wanna second guess my choice."

"It's never too late to change one's path. Well, not for you two anyway."

Max seemed saddened, following that remark. She apologized to Chloe for her accident, as if it was somehow her fault. But how could that be? She wasn't even around when it happened. Why did she act like she was the one responsible?

In all the years that she has known Max, she never brought this up. Just one more thing that came out of nowhere. Her earlier reaction at the house to seeing Chloe was too genuine, so there was no way she could have possibly known about this before.

Now they talked about how great it was when they were kids. Rachel didn't have too many friends in her childhood. Unfortunately being the daughter of Arcadia Bay's district attorney meant that most parents refused to have their kids stay at their place as if they would get a ticket for it if they broke something. The schoolyard was also less than merciful to her. Some kids were also too scared of her dad, like he was a monster. Well, they weren't entirely wrong about that. You reap what you sow after all.

Rachel started feeling ignored at the sight of those two being so oblivious to her. They clearly had a bond of some kind and a strong one at that. Rachel had a talent for being very observant and could tell that Chloe and Max acted like they've known each other for a lifetime. They may not have meant to exclude her and might not even have realized that they did it, but that didn't help. She hated that feeling of being envious. It's not something she was proud of but its always been there. She did her best to suppress the feeling and finally, they decided to head back to Chloe's home. Maybe soon she could talk to Max privately and get to the bottom of this, as there clearly was more to this than met the eye. It was time for some answers.

"Chloe, I swear I will never abandon you again. I'm so sorry for acting like an idiot. I really do care.", Max said while gently putting her hand Chloe's shoulder.

"I know Max. You are here now, that's what matters.", she replied with a smile.

To Rachel, this felt like a poisonous arrow that was piercing her heart. She did her best to hold back the tears that were all too willing to start flowing. Rachel felt something boiling inside of her, but again, she managed to subdue her emotions for the sake of not causing a scene.

* * *

They arrived back at the house and they entered Chloe's room, which apparently was part of the garage once.

The room was more like one would find in a hospital. That didn't exactly evoke any positive feeling in Rachel. She has always hated hospitals.

It had a bed with weird machines attached to it, like something from an old Star Trek set. A ramp to the bathroom had been put in place for Chloe and all kinds of personal mementos we spread across the room. A snow globe with a model of a doe in it caught Rachel's eye. For a moment, she felt as if it was calling out to her. Without knowing that she did, she had picked it up, feeling transfixed, holding the globe in her hands. Was it trying to tell her something? She caressed it with her hands.

"Hey Chloe, would you mind if I stayed the night?", Max asked her.

This brought Rachel back to reality and at the same time the final straw for her. Something in her head just couldn't take it anymore and something had to give. She respected Max's wishes by coming here, but based on how these two, especially Max herself, have behaved this evening, it was a clear sign that there is more to this than just an old friendship. Rachel wasn't buying this charade any longer. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was the thought of a rival to her love. She couldn't hold it back, jealousy was rearing its ugly face. It felt like a fire had burned out of control inside her and demanded to be unleashed.

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

With a loud smashing sound, the globe hit the ground as Rachel threw it down, shattering into countless glittering shards. She was furious.

"Maxine Caulfield, we need to talk. Alone.", she said coldly followed by giving Chloe a death-glare.

She stomped out of the room, heading for the backyard.

"GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

* * *

Excusing herself, Max followed her outside into the yard outside the Price's home.

"You better start making sense. Just tell me the truth already!", Rachel said angrily.

"What are you talking about?! What did I do?", Max asked in confusion.

"You tell me. Do you really think I don't notice how you look at her? Your eyes were practically glued to her face the whole time we've been here. You say you two were friends. That isn't what my eyes are telling me. And don't think you can get out of this, I can see right through your act. You are pretending to be nice to me, but it is all too obvious that the last few years didn't matter to you at all! The Maxine I knew, or should I say, _thought_ to know, would never behave like this. Also, since when do you call yourself just Max? You gave me hell every time I called you that!"

Taken aback by this, Max tried to respond by saying, "Rachel, this is so much more complicated than you can imagine. If I tried explaining it to you now, you would think I'm crazy! Please, you gotta understand."

"Understand what? That ever since I ran into you today, you have been acting like someone else? First, you did't recognize me, then you forget all about what we meant to do. Then, when I kissed you, you reacted as if I was a stranger to you, I could tell. In case you forgot, that was far from the first kiss we shared. Something is _hella_ wrong with you and I intend to find out what it is. We will play a game right now. It's one you should be familiar with, it's Two Truths and a Lie."

Max realized where this was going. This was not good.

"Well, let's play.", Rachel said with a strong hint of confidence. She knew she had the upper hand and to her, this wasn't a game, but an interrogation.

"I will be nice and start the guessing. Tell me three things about yourself Maxine, if that's who you really are."

Max thought about what to say. If she lied about anything, Rachel could most certainly tell. But if she said something true to her that didn't happen in this timeline, then she would lose too. There seemed to be no way out, she was stuck in a no-win scenario. She decided to play the game honestly. At least her conscience remained clean that way.

"Ok, first fact. I love old instant cameras and use them all the time to take my pictures. For my second fact, I hate the Vortex Club. They may have started out as something positive once, but that is no longer the case. As for fact number three, I have failed to save Kate Marsh from jumping off the roof of Blackwell in a suicide attempt."

Rachel listened quietly the whole time. Her expression remaining in a cold stare.

Then, after a moment, she broke the silence, "All lies. Every single one of them is bullshit! You only ever take pictures with your phone and wouldn't even look at old clunkers like instant cameras. And the Vortex Club hate? Bitch, you run the damn place when Courtney isn't around! Hell, you've got Victoria Chase doing your bidding all the time. And who is Kate Marsh? Another name I've never heard of before. That makes three now. First, there was Chloe, the friend you never called by name before and kept behind my back, then this Frank guy, whoever the fuck that is and now this Kate? Nobody by that name went to Blackwell."

"I'm being honest Rachel. I know it doesn't make sense to you, but I meant what I said. The lie was Kate. I actually did save her. The entire school was watching it happen. She really did try to kill herself."

"Yeah, whatever. I bet you were a real everyday hero.", Rachel said mockingly.

She circled around Max like a shark. And blood was in the water.

"Fine, I will tell you three things about me now, even though I know already that you won't be able to tell the truth from the lie anyway."

Max realized that this is the only chance she had to calm her down. If she could bust out her rewind, she can hear Rachel's answers first and then use them against her. It was her only way out.

"Alright, first fact. I'm ambidextrous. Second, you initiated our relationship, by sweeping me off my feet with a video you sent me online and third, my dad did not approve of you when he first met you. Now let's hear it."

With her back to the wall, Max had to guess and hope for the best. She had no idea about any of these. She didn't pay much attention to Rachel's hands. Could she make a video like that? Sounds like something she would do. But what parent would ever hate her? Then again, this timelines' Max isn't the same as her, as her phone messages made quite clear. She could always rewind to give the correct answers at least.

"Ok. I'm gonna call true on the ambidextrous thing. True on the video and lie on your dad."

"Well, now I know you aren't the real deal, Maxine.", Rachel stated.

"That video was from me. I sent it to you as a proof of my love that I felt for you ever since you stepped into my life. How dare you forget that?!"

Seeing no other alternative, reaching out, Max tried to rewind. But something wasn't right. It felt similar to when she was on the roof at Blackwell with Kate. Something was blocking her and nothing happened, she was done for.

Rachel saw that Max's hand was reached out towards her and swatted it aside in one swift motion. She might as well have slapped her in the face. It hurt about as much too.

Max remained silent, trying not to freak out. Rachel had her pinned down and she knew it. She was so livid, there was no way she could break the whole story to her right now, hoping to convince her. With being as angry as Rachel was, she wouldn't believe any of it. It would only make the situation worse than it already was, if that was even possible.

Suddenly, tears were rolling down Rachel's face. The words that followed were laden with feelings of betrayal.

"Do you understand how much this hurts? I love you more than I could ever say. I have done everything you have ever asked me to do. I was there for you when the world was out to get you. Like those times when you were feeling down because you didn't know if you could make it at Blackwell. Don't you remember how we used to stay up late to look at the stars? What about the kisses we shared? What about the bracelet that I gave you as a symbol of our unity? WHAT ABOUT THE _NIGHTS_ WE SPENT TOGETHER?!"

Max was petrified, not able to respond. Nothing she would say would do any good.

With her back turned to Max, Rachel continued in a shaky voice, "If you wanted to be rid of me, all you would have needed to do was to say it. You would never have to worry about me again. Is that what you want? Instead, you do this, pretending that I'm a stranger? You do this, knowing perfectly well about the damage that lies have already done to my life. Meanwhile, you are getting all warmed up with your old flame that you kept secret from me this whole time. You aren't just a fraud Max Caulfield, you are a cruel one. I could _never_ do this to anyone, much less to you."

Max was shaking like leaves in a storm and she was overflowing with guilt.

"Rachel I'm so sorry. I didn't notice! I was so happy to see my friend, that I forgot to treat you like I should. I know you want to hate me for this and I don't blame you if you do, but there is a reason this all happened this way. I wish I could tell you why right now, but you wouldn't believe it. Please, give this a chance to calm down so that we can talk about this as rationally as possible in the morning. I promise you will get your answers, I mean it!"

Rachel's expression remained unimpressed.

"I will be sleeping in the car since you clearly made up your mind as to who you want to be with tonight. I will be leaving at 9 in the morning. Bring your answers at that time if you have them. They better be good. Don't fuck this up, Maxine Caulfield."

And just like that, Rachel stormed off, leaving Max behind. Max didn't know what to think. Suddenly, she heard a loud cry coming from the direction that Rachel went. It sounded almost like a raven but it was unmistakably her. For a brief moment, she could swear that the wind around her had picked up for no apparent reason. The breeze was cold, making her hair stand up. As fast it came, it settled down again.

With nowhere else to turn, she returned to the house and went to Chloe's room, feeling incredible guilt. She kept telling herself that this wasn't really her fault, but her conscience argued against that.

* * *

Being imprisoned in her bed for the night, Chloe didn't catch much of the drama. She could only see Rachel and Max arguing through the window. It got loud a few times and it looked serious. The way Rachel had gestured and yelled, it seemed like she gave Max the guilt trip of a lifetime. Was she herself to blame for all of this?

When Max entered the room, she looked like she just went through hell.

There was no way she could make her listen to her request anymore. Even if it meant more suffering, there was no way she could bear to put this burden on Max now, not anymore.

"Are you ok Max? Damn, she really laid into you there."

"I deserved it. I just wish I could make her understand, but I feel that even I had tried that, I would have argued against a brick wall. She made up her mind and this was my punishment."

Max continued her sobbing, wishing it would stop already.

"I don't mean to judge, but your friend seemed pretty stock up about something. Her way or the high way sort of thing perhaps?"

"That's just it Chloe. She isn't just my friend. She is... my lover."

"Oh. Well... uh, that complicates matters a bit."

"Hella yes it does."

"Hella? Who says that?"

"It's a... I don't actually know where it is from. Just something I picked up.

"Well don't expect _me_ to use that, I hate that word, no offense."

"None taken."

"So what was this about if you don't mind me asking?"

After an audible sigh, Max explained, "She thinks that you are trying to take me away from her. That I've had a secret relationship behind her back I guess. I've behaved pretty stupidly today and didn't consider her enough. This is so messed up."

"There is a quote that comes to mind.", Chloe said.

"Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd,

Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd."

"Look at Chloe the theater expert."

"I just got way too much time on my hands, Max. Considering my body is in the shape it is in, I figured I might as well improve my mind."

Finally, after a while, the tears had finally dried up and Max managed to calm herself.

"What time is it?", Chloe asked.

"8 PM.", Max stated.

"Well, we might as well make the best of the situation. Are you still up for staying here tonight or are you going after her?"

"I've got nowhere else to be, Rachel told me to stay away and she would prefer sleeping in her car. I will stay with you."

"I appreciate that, though I am sorry about what happened. If you feel nostalgic, how about a movie night? I feel like I'm in a Blade Runner kind of mood."

"Let me get it."

Max went looking in the cupboard with the DVDs and browsed. "The Butterfly Effect?" way too apropos. "The Perfect Storm"? "Twister"? Now fate was just mocking her.

Eventually, she found it.

"Director's Cut huh? I don't think I know this version.", Max said.

"You will love it, I'm sure."

"Don't you fall asleep on me though, you always do that."

"I won't Max, don't worry."

Max really wanted to enjoy the movie, but she couldn't forget about the thunderclouds on the horizon. Tomorrow, she would have to face Rachel and spill her insane story on her and hope she understood. While this may not be the life she was familiar with, it was hers now. And she didn't want to lose Rachel if she could do something about it, as that wouldn't be fair towards her. She would make the best out of the situation and get used to having her as a partner if that's what it took. She was a very strong personality and to say she was interesting was an understatement.

And then there was the Tornado the day after.

For a moment, Max wasn't sure which she was more scared of.

Considering what had happened, Max slept like a rock. The night passed and another day dawned. Waking up in the morning, Max noticed that Chloe was already way ahead of her and wide awake. Rachel kept her word and was nowhere to be seen. They were still alone.

"How dare you fall asleep on me during the movie?", Chloe said.

"I guess there's a first time for everything, I was wiped out.", Max replied.

"So, do you think Deckard is a replicant?"

Max remained silent. Her thoughts debating on how to deal with Rachel.

"Sorry, I always talk way too much about movies, you know how I like to pick them apart.", Chloe apologized upon seeing Max's concerned expression.

Awkward silence commenced.

"Max, can you do me a favor?"


	3. Finality

Max went upstairs to get Chloe her morphine injector. Who would have thought that she herself of all people would ever end up bringing drugs for her best friend?

On the way, she ran into both William and Joyce. Unfortunately, things weren't as good as they seemed. It turned out that the Price's were drowning in medical bills. Chloe's continued treatment cost them a fortune and their own home was now at risk of foreclosure and they could stand to lose everything. Joyce also told Max that Chloe's condition was worse than she was aware. Couldn't anything ever go right?

She also came across what used to be Chloe's old room. As she entered, her heart sunk, realizing how empty it was. No punk posters, no desk, nothing scribbled on the wall. The only thing of notice were a few cardboard boxes with Chloe's old toys and shoes.

Max checked the time. It was 8:30 AM. She had half an hour until Rachel could undergo another meltdown. She internally braced herself for it.

* * *

Waiting on Max, Chloe could no longer bear to keep her condition a secret. She didn't know exactly how much time she had left. Even considering last nights drama, she just had to let her know before she would leave today.

Max returned with the injector. She hooked it up to the machinery, telling Chloe to call for her folks the instant she might mess things up. Thankfully, she got it working.

"Max, there is something I need to tell you. My condition is not exactly getting any better. I hear the doctors talk about it while they think I'm zonked out. My respiratory system is failing. It is only a matter of time before... before...", she couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know."

"You... you do?"

"Your mom told me. I'm so sorry that you are in this situation Chloe, this isn't what I had in mind at all. I fucked everything up."

"Hold on, what are you talking about?"

Max proceeded to tell her about her time traveling, the pictures and everything she had gone through with the "other" Chloe.

Chloe was speechless for a moment. A rare occurrence.

"I know I'm already high, but holy shit, that is the craziest thing anyone has ever told me!"

"I'm afraid it has all happened.", Max said.

"So tell me, Ms. Time Wizard, what is the alternate Chloe like?"

"She is strong, just like you. She is fearless and she saved me from that Nathan prick who was about to beat me up and a badass. She is just on edge with her family and with Rachel having gone missing."

"I always wanted to be a bit of rebel, but being like this... well I only cause trouble when something goes wrong with me physically. Your Chloe has a good friend in you, Max."

Max held Chloe's hand firmly. There was a crazy thought in her mind. What if...

"Max, could you do me a favor and grab that old photo album over there? I would love to see some of our old pictures."

"Of course. I wouldn't wanna miss that."

Going through the pictures, memories came crashing down like waves upon a rocky shore. Images of her and Chloe having fun, dressing up as pirates and drawing comics. The world seemed so much simpler back then and less dark.

"We look so badass in our pirate gear.", Chloe said, having a smile on her face.

And then she saw it. The picture that got Max here. The last picture William originally took. What if Max could do this again? She couldn't stand the thought of Chloe dying, or the Price's possibly being evicted out of their own home. Assuming Chloe was still around for that, what would happen to her then? The thought horrified Max. Chloe's life was far from perfect where she came from, but at least she would live. What parent would want to lose their only child?

"Chloe, can I have this one?" Max asked.

"Keep it. I don't need pictures to remember you, Max. Besides, it seems you will have to deal with your girlfriend now. I don't want to hold you back and cause more trouble for you."

Max turned to her and looked her in the eyes.

"You never do. We will see each other again. Perhaps, sooner than you think."

"I would like that. Good luck Max."

"Thank you. For everything Chloe."

After saying goodbye to Joyce and William, Max was leaving the house, holding on firmly to the picture in her hand. It was worth a shot. But there was someone she owed an explanation first.

* * *

Rachel waited, standing by the car. The morning breeze felt nice today. A good sign she hoped. She was very upset over what had happened for a multitude of reasons. All that anger she unleashed... she felt almost ashamed of it. Not in a million years did she expect to ever explode on someone like that, much less on Max. But once her feelings took control, there was no holding back. Even though she felt more than justified in her actions, she did wonder if she could have handled that better. It was time to find out what was going on. Maxine meant so much to her, she deserved a chance to prove herself. If however, she would be fed more nonsense, she could probably set the entire forest on fire with all the rage that had boiled up last night.

She saw Max coming out of the house, right on time. At least she was punctual.

Rachel stood, arms crossed. The scene almost resembling a classic western standoff.

"Well, you've made it. Now, are you going to tell me where my real Maxine is? Because you are not it."

"You are right Rachel, I'm not, but not for the reasons you are assuming. There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to be straight to the point. That's what you want right?"

"Of course. This may be the first mystery I don't care about being spoiled quickly. Go on."

"It all happened a few days ago. One moment I was having a nightmare that I was stuck in a storm, a terrible storm that threatened to destroy the whole town. Then I woke up in Mr. Jefferson's class and..."

"Wait. Jefferson? As in Mark Jefferson?", Rachel interjected.

"Yeah, why?"

"Isn't he just the janitor?! What's he teaching? How to watch paint dry?"

For some reason, the thought of Mr. Jefferson in Samuel's getup amused Max, even if only briefly.

"I will explain it, don't worry. So anyway, I then had this bizarre thing happening in the bathroom. I saw Nathan come in and talk to himself like he was paranoid about something. Then Chloe entered the room and tried to blackmail him for money that she owed. In an argument, the fucker pulled a gun on her and shot her dead right in front of me."

Rachel's face went pale. When the did that ever happen? She could tell that Max meant every word she said, she sounded too sincere about it, like she really was there to have witnessed it. It gave her the chills.

"Suddenly, I reached out with my hand and found that I could reverse time. I saved Chloe from Nathan. Ever since then, Chloe and I were looking for you, Rachel. That's why I was so surprised and happy when I ran into you yesterday."

"You were looking for me? Why?"

"You are missing where I come from. Your missing person posters are plastered all over the town. Chloe has been desperately trying to find you for over five months. She misses you so bad Rachel. She told me that you were more than friends and that you got together while I was living in Seattle. You were there for her when I wasn't. I wasn't able to thank you for that yet."

Rachel was deep in thought but kept listening.

"Then, I accidentally found that I could travel through pictures and went back to the year 2008 when I was 13. Do you remember William? Chloe's dad? He is dead where I come from. I went back in time to prevent the car accident that killed him. That's when I appeared here. A different universe if you will. But my memories and my mind are still my own."

"So you are telling me, that you are Maxine but not the Maxine I know? Where is the old you?"

"I guess I must have "overwritten" her when I appeared here. That's the best explanation I have. I can't pretend to understand it all myself, but there is something you should know. Chloe is dying back there. The accident left her with an impaired respiratory system. She ended up this way because of my decision. She doesn't have much time left. I will attempt to undo my change, as much as it saddens me. William doesn't deserve this, but neither does Chloe. It's the only way to return to my world... assuming this works."

"But... if you leave... then what happens to this? To us?"

"I don't know. I think what should happen is that I will lose consciousness and your Max should return, at least that's the hope. The alternative is that this universe ceases to exist. We would all return to where originally belonged and none of this would have ever happened."

"And I won't remember you, won't I? The other me I mean."

"I'm afraid so. Chloe may have told you about me, but nothing flattering I imagine considering I abandoned her for 5 years. I honestly have no clue what would happen if we meet again."

Rachel was pacing back and forth, trying to make sense of all of this. While what Max said sounds like complete insanity, the way she explained it was all too convincing. It would explain everything. And why would she lie about it?

"You wanna know something about me, Max? I got a pretty good bullshit detector. I've been lied to so often, I've gotten pretty good at telling when someone _does_ in fact lie. But I can tell you mean what you say. Every word, as stupid as it all sounds. I couldn't act that convincingly if I tried. I believe you... and Max... I'm terribly sorry for how I treated you last night. You were just trying to protect my feelings while reconnecting with a friend, I understand that now. I hope I didn't totally ruin your night."

"Thank you, Rachel. Know this must be hella weird for you. I'm sorry for making you mad last night. But don't you agree that it would have gone worse if I had told you all of this then?"

"You are right. I would have been tempted to leave you for good. I'm glad you didn't make me. I know that you probably don't feel what I do, but my feelings for you are real, no matter what memories you have in your head, Max."

Max felt herself blushing. Could it be that she was warming up to Rachel? A tempting thought, but she couldn't give in. She had to leave. To stay seemed selfish to her.

Then, something occurred to her and she asked, "Speaking of leaving. Rachel, if you wanted to disappear, where would you go? Anything you can tell me could help me find you when I get back."

"Most of the time if I want to be left alone, I hang out at this old junkyard outside of town. It's been my secret hideout for a while. If I were to still be in Arcadia Bay, that's where you would most likely find me. I meant to show it to you one day. It's not much, but it's mine."

"I've actually been there, in my reality I mean. It's Chloe's favorite retreat too. She told me that you and she spent a lot of time there. We never ran into you there though.", Max said in disappointment.

"You can try Los Angeles. I always wanted to go there. Although I admit, leaving you and Chloe behind without saying a word sounds like a shitty thing to do. Your Rachel has some explaining to do. I thought I was better than that."

"Maybe she does. But I would just be glad if we can find her ... I mean you. Ugh, this is so messed up."

"Wouldn't that be something? I wonder how well we would all get along, given the different circumstances. But if your Rachel is anything like me, be careful around Chloe. You saw what my jealousy caused last night. I'm not proud of it, but I can be a protective bitch. I don't deal well with a rivalry."

"Rachel, I need to ask you for a favor in case this place is still standing once I'm gone. If my other me returns, please tell her about Chloe and what is going on with her. Don't sugarcoat it. If she cares about Chloe remotely as much as I do, then please let them have the time they deserve, while they still can. At least this way, I can give your Max a parting gift for hijacking her mind. I think that's only fair."

"Yes of course. I will be honest, once my rage settled, I came to realize that Chloe is pretty cool. I will introduce you, rest assured. And I will apologize for wrecking her stuff too."

"Thank you. I know this must be kind of hard for you considering what happened. I want you to know that I truly appreciate that."

"Who am I to deny your wishes? I never have and I will be damned if I start now, in case this is the end of the world."

Max remembered her vision. Could it still happen? She didn't wanna leave it to chance.

"Rachel, that storm vision I told you about was no joke. This thing was _huge_. If it happens, I want you and Chloe as far away from this place as possible. It will happen sometime tomorrow. I seriously cannot overstate how destructive that tornado was. Please, stay safe."

"We will, Max."

"Well, I better get this over with before I second-guess myself again. It was great to meet you, Rachel. I can see now why Chloe loves you so much. You are so powerful, I can tell. It was an honor to finally meet you."

Max pulled out the photo. A part of her really didn't want to go through with it. She tried to focus.

Rachel saw how Max pulled out the picture and started to look at it in concentration. Then, despite her best efforts at maintaining control, fear got a hold of her mind. A terrible realization occurred to her.

"Max!", Rachel yelled out in desperation.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"I... I don't think I can stand the thought of losing you. What if you are wrong and you can't undo what you have caused? What if can't find me? You said I was gone for how long? Five months? Look, I don't know your Rachel, but there is no way in hell I would ever go away like that without a word to anyone, I swear! I said stuff like that once because I was angry with the world and my dad. What if something happened to me and it's too late for you to find me? I don't want to die Max!"

Rachel had a horrified look in her teary eyes. She was genuinely afraid of what fate may have had planned for her once Max went through with this.

Max hadn't considered that. She always held on to the hope that Rachel was still out there, waiting to be found. But then again, both Frank and Chloe were involved with her. Clearly, Frank had no clue where she was either and all of Chloe's efforts led to nothing but feelings of betrayal. The thought of finding out that Rachel could be dead terrified Max. How would Chloe react to such a terrible revelation? Could she even take that at this point? She was already on the verge of going ballistic over Rachel seeing Frank behind her back and who knows who else. This could lead to Chloe to doing something terrible to herself as a result. Max had saved Kate, but the thought of seeing Chloe in a similar situation made Max choke up. What if she were to fail? Fate had tried to kill Chloe more than once this week already. How much further could she push her luck?

"Max, I told that I don't care what's in your head. I love you regardless of your memories. I know we had a rocky start, to say the least, but I'm telling you that I'm willing to try. You aren't completely different you know? I just said these things about you because I was angry and jumped to conclusions. I was too afraid of losing you to someone else. Maybe it was destiny that we ended up meeting like this."

Destiny. Max was in the rare position of being able to choose.

She then considered herself for once. Rachel was attractive, that she could no longer deny and not just in terms of appearance. Despite all that happened, she hasn't left Max's side, at least not entirely. Not everyone would do that. While the Rachel from her timeline had secrets, that didn't need to apply to her now. That, or they may not be the same ones.

Max would still go to Blackwell, but she would have to double down on making good grades. The only real regret was Chloe and the uncertainty about her remaining life span. But what about William? Did he really deserve to die twice? Maybe it was time for Max to accept the consequences of her actions and move on. At least she won't be facing them alone. She really did start taking a liking to Rachel. And what if the whole universe implodes in on itself if she tries this?

"Maybe you are right. I have tried to give life the middle finger and got punished for it. But it has also led me to you at the same time. But Chloe..."

Rachel stepped closer, putting her hands on Max's shoulders.

"I will be with you all the way, just like I promised you a long time ago. I will do my best to help and guide you. If you still want me, Max, then I will be yours until the end of time and I will learn to accept Chloe as your friend."

Max lifted up the photo in her hands. She had to make a decision.


	4. Ripples

With a ripping sound, Max tore the photograph she held to shreds and it fell to the ground. Now, there was no going back.

Tears came flowing and Max's emotions took over. A chaotic mix of sadness and happiness all at once. It was almost too much for her to bear. She fell on her knees, realizing the full gravity of what she had just done. Covering her face with her hands, she broke down crying and shaking.

"I'm sorry Chloe, please forgive me, I just couldn't..."

Rachel hurried to her side and tried to comfort her by putting her arm over Max's shoulder. With her other hand, she gently held on to her.

"It's ok Max, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.", she said softly.

Max knew now that she was stuck here for good. That picture of herself with Chloe was the only thing that would have allowed her to possibly return to the world she once knew. But the risk was too high. If she tried, she could be condemning Rachel to death as well as William and neither of them deserved such a terrible fate. She barely felt how Rachel tried to get her up, but she permitted it nonetheless. Was there a right or wrong decision here? She kept telling herself that she didn't make a selfish call.

After a while, while still holding on to Max, Rachel carried her to the car.

"Almost there, you can make it.", she encouraged her.

* * *

Leaving the Price residence behind them, they drove back to Blackwell. Their classes would begin soon. As if Max had the state of mind for that now.

The drive was a quiet one. To Max, it seemed like the world went mute. In the distance, she could spot the lighthouse of Arcadia Bay. It felt like an eternity ago that she had that tornado vision. She hoped that this vision wouldn't turn out to be true. She thought of Chloe, that is the Chloe that she used to know. She didn't know if she still existed somewhere or somehow. Just what did she get herself into?

"I have to believe that you are still out there, I am so sorry, but I couldn't risk letting her die too, I hope you understand that.", she said out loud to herself, wiping away tears.

Rachel had remained silent hearing this, giving Max her needed privacy, as much as possible anyway. Max thought about her last conversation with Chloe, the one she used to know. She could remember how mad she was at the world, even at Max, for every terrible thing that ever happened to her. That was not how she wanted to ever say goodbye. Now, Chloe was living seemingly more happily, but in horrible conditions regardless. Feeling guilty about putting Chloe into that wheelchair, she continued her sobbing. She could tell that Rachel kept glancing at her, but remaining quiet still. To be fair, Max wouldn't know what to say to in her position either.

Once she had calmed down again, she tried to focus her mind on the immediate situation. She was about to go back to Blackwell, but a different Blackwell. She had no idea what to expect. Rachel had gone there for a long time before she ever did. This meant that Max would be alone in her classes all day. Though she would probably recognize the people in her class, odds are they were different personalities now. To think that the fate of one person can make such a huge impact on everyone else.

They parked and Max felt her anxiety rising. This was like her first day here all over again. Except now she couldn't even look forward to class with her favorite teacher Mark Jefferson anymore, seeing how he somehow ended up being just the janitor. What a disgrace! Who was teaching photography now? And was Max even in that class anymore?

"Rachel?"

"What is it, Max?", she responded.

"I don't even know my schedule. How am I gonna get through this day without looking like a complete and utter fool?"

With a smirk, Rachel pulled out a piece of paper. It was a handwritten copy of Max's class schedule.

"I kept this to know where you are, in case your phone dies or something."

"Thank you, that was thoughtful. Let's see..."

Her schedule seemed the same. Same classes in the same order as before. What a relief. To Max, it seemed like there was at least some order in this chaotic universe.

They arrived quite early. This would give Max time to adjust and scope out her surroundings.

Before she had a chance to get up, she could feel how Rachel had carefully placed her right hand on her knee.

"Will you be ok?", she asked with a grave expression of concern.

"I must try. I won't have it easy in there, but I just have to tough it out.", Max replied.

"Hey listen. I know this probably awkward to ask, but how about you and I hang out at the Two Whales later?"

"The diner?"

"Yes. You know it?"

"I love that place."

"I'm glad. I figured it would be a good place for us to get to know each other better. I... just want to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. What do you think?"

Max saw nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, it may just be what she needed after school. That would at least be one positive thing happening this day.

"I'd like to do that.", she replied.

Rachel smiled in response. And while Max couldn't muster the strength to do so herself yet, this did lift her spirits a little bit at least. Getting out of the car, Max was just about to walk towards the building when Rachel extended her arm with a playful yet expectant gesture.

After a brief second of hesitation, Max held fast. Hand in hand, they approached the schoolyard. It was all too clear that Rachel didn't care about what anyone might have thought of them, all that seemed to matter to her now was to give Max all the attention she could. Along the way, Max noticed how many people gave them looks, mostly envious ones. Her face felt burning red. She was never one for attention, much less this kind.

But if so, why did it feel so good at the same time?

* * *

Then they ran into Victoria, looking like she was in a hurry. It seemed unavoidable, Max figured.

"Oh hey, you two! I hope you are doing better Maxine, oh sorry, I mean Max. When you left so suddenly yesterday I wondered if it was something I said. I didn't piss you off or anything did I? I'm sorry Courtney was mean to you, you know how she gets."

Max couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was Victoria nice to her, she was downright submissive both in her tone and posture.

"Uh no, Victoria everything is fine. I just needed to take care of something, that's all."

"Phew, I'm glad. Oh and Rachel, thank you so much for helping me with my homework assignment, your input really helped me! I gotta go meet Courtney now, hope she will be in a good mood today. We got a party to plan! Ciao!"

Then, she cheerily walked off.

"Did that just happen?", Max uttered in disbelief.

"I told you got her wrapped around your finger.", Rachel said with a smile.

"I assume that's new to you?"

"You can say that. The Victoria I know is the exact opposite and treats everyone like her own personal underlings... or worse. She makes fun of me and my selfie habit all the time."

That made Rachel laugh.

"Seriously? I know for a fact she takes more selfies than even you do. You two used to compete for the highest daily selfie quota all the time."

"I guess I would prefer a friendly competition over her bullying people, that's for sure."

"I see you have a lot to learn. You are well respected around here, as you will find out.", Rachel told her.

Max wasn't sure how to feel about that. In her memory, she had always been the quiet one in class that only talked when spoken to and kept to herself. Kate and Warren were her only real contacts at the time. But Kate was not here and Warren seemed to only have eyes for Stella now.

"Well, I better get in there and catch up with the drama class. We are preparing another Shakespeare performance soon.", Rachel said.

"Oh really? Which one?"

"The Winter's Tale. I play the part of Hermione. A queen to gets wrongfully accused of a crime and manages to come back from the dead. Sounds weird, I know, but it's going to be a great show.", Rachel explained. "I will text you later, I got to go. Do you uh... do you want a hug?"

"I could use a thousand of those right now.", Max answered.

Max felt Rachel's warm embrace once more. She could tell that Rachel wished to do more than just hug her, but she didn't seem to be willing to act on it, at least not yet. Max appreciated her being so accommodating. It must have been hard for her to restrain herself.

"I hope you have a good day, Max."

"You too, Rachel."

Then Max was alone once again. She was trying to imagine Rachel on stage. She was genuinely looking forward to seeing the performance. The irony of her choice of character did not escape her.

* * *

She spotted Daniel DaCosta, sitting under a tree with his sketchbook in hand. Some things evidently never changed.

Much like she had done before, she approached him and greeted him.

"Hey Daniel, how are you doing?"

He almost jumped out of his skin in surprise.

"Maxine? I, uh, I'm doing fine. Wow, I don't think we've spoken before."

Max could tell he was sweating bullets inside. Then, she remembered that one time Daniel made a sketch of her.

"About time we change that. You can call me Max. Hey, I've heard you got a pretty good talent for sketching?"

"I love it. Brooke let me sketch her once. I'd like to think it turned out well. But honestly? I wish I could sketch Rachel. She is my muse of inspiration. But she's way out of my league, just like you."

"I can ask her if you like. I don't think she would mind.", Max offered.

"Would you? Wow, that would be awesome Max. What can I, the humble Daniel DaCosta do for you in return?"

"How about you sketch me during break time? We should have plenty of time after the photography class. I would even allow you to upload it."

"Deal! Thanks, Max, that made my day."

Max felt good about making Daniel happy. If his life here was anything like what she remembered it to be, then he didn't exactly drown in friends around here.

* * *

Max's classes went mostly well. They still covered the same materials, but Mr. Jefferson's absence was noticeable. The new photography teacher was nice, but he wasn't Jefferson. Max didn't know him at all but at least Mr. West was competent and laid back.

During a break, she let Daniel draw her. The sketch looked virtually identical to the one she remembered. She was very happy with it once again.

Once classes were over, Max still hadn't received a text from Rachel. Her day may have been longer than her own. She decided to take the extra time to check out her dorm room. As it turned out, it was still in the same spot. Room 219.

What she found made her jaw drop. The room looked more like something Victoria, or rather the previous Victoria would have called a home. Pretentious fashion posters, magazines and jewelry catalogs littered the place. This was so not her style. At all.

Her wardrobe was hardly any better. Where Max would previously have made a habit of having the same outfit all the time, her closet was now full of expensive designer clothes and a never-ending selection of blazers and cardigans. This all had to go at some point, there was no way she would voluntarily wear any of this given the choice. Rachel mentioned that she had a shopping habit. That was an understatement, there were thousands of dollars worth of clothes in here. Easy money, assuming someone around here wanted any of it or could afford it.

She changed into an outfit she disliked the least. She found a yellow blazer that turned out to be comfortable at least. This one she may just keep. Her phone buzzed shortly after. Rachel was done and was waiting outside the main entrance of the school. Max felt her heart jump with excitement, she couldn't deny that she was missing Rachel all day.

She rushed outside and found Rachel waiting for her, but she hadn't noticed her yet.

She decided to sneak up on Rachel quietly and playfully jump her, just like Rachel had originally done to her the moment they first met, exactly 24 hours ago. Her sudden courage did not remain unnoticed.

"Wow, aren't you happy to see me?", Rachel exclaimed in surprise.

"You had this one coming.", Max snickered.

Rachel was visibly relieved to see Max feeling better and they headed to her car. Max could eat the entire menu at the Two Whales if it was up to her, that's how hungry she was. Leaving Blackwell behind once again, they started heading to the diner.

* * *

"So how was your first day of school?", Rachel asked.

"It went ok, not as bad as I expected. The subject matter didn't change and the new photography teacher is nice."

"Ah yes, Mr. West. He's chill. I don't see him often but I can tell he knows his stuff.", Rachel replied.

The view from the coast hadn't changed since the previous day. The dead whales were still lining the beaches. Hopefully, this would mark the end of these crazy incidents.

They arrived at the Two Whales. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other better. Max felt reminded of the time when Chloe had agreed to meet her at the diner and Max managed to impress her with the rewind powers. Max wondered if her powers were still working. She was too scared to use them ever since they failed her. Maybe at some point, she could try showing off her power again. Even someone like Rachel should be quite impressed.

As for Rachel herself, Max didn't know how much longer she could keep her feelings subdued that made themselves known at this point. Even though they only met a day ago, she could already feel her heart swarming with butterflies. Perhaps it was destiny after all.


	5. Fire and Flame

The diner was just like Max remembered it. The smell of bacon was hanging in the air, tempting her already. She spotted Joyce behind the counter, serving a customer. There were a lot of those around this afternoon. As she and Rachel walked further inside to find a booth to sit at, Joyce's face lit up as she spotted Max and waved her in greeting.

Having found a place to sit, Rachel and Max were now facing each other. To Max, it still seemed so bizarre, yet incredible at the same time. Rachel definitely had an almost magnetic attraction. She just couldn't take her eyes off her for long. From the way Rachel looked back at her, she could tell the feeling was quite mutual.

"It feels good to be here. It feels like the world is calm for just a little while.", Max said.

"I know what you mean. We used to go here all the time, so I'm happy you didn't change your mind about that.", Rachel replied.

Max looked down at her arm at the bracelet. How long did she have it?

As if she could read Max's mind, Rachel said, "I gave you that the day we first met. You were so floored. I never saw you without it since."

"I feel honored. I know how much this must mean to you. I really like it."

"I've must have had it since I was breathing. It was always my lucky charm. When you finally arrived here from Seattle, I wanted you to have it so a part of me could always be with you."

Once again, Max could feel herself blushing. There was no way Rachel didn't notice it. Looking up, Max noticed that Rachel had remained silent, but instead had a smile on her face. For a moment, their eyes remained locked.

"Oh hey Max, so good to see you again. And Rachel was it?"

Joyce had come to take their order. Max got so carried away that she didn't even notice her walking up to them.

Rachel responded to her by saying, "Yes, it is. Look I'm sorry for my outburst the other day. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble. I didn't mean to break that snow globe.", Rachel said apologetically.

"It's ok honey, I figured you had a good reason to be angry, but I appreciate your apology. It's water under the bridge as far as Chloe is concerned. Now, what can I get you two?"

"I would love a bacon omelet with just water.", Max said.

"Same for me.", Rachel stated.

"Alright, two bacon omelets coming up! It will be just a moment, as you can see the place is fairly packed, hope that's no problem for you?"

"No Joyce, we've got all the time in the world right now. Besides, they are worth the wait.", Max said cheerily.

With that, Joyce went to get their order started.

* * *

"I need a new wardrobe. I mean, this ok, but the rest? Ugh.", Max said with mild disgust.

"I was wondering if your fashion style changed. Thankfully, I have a surplus of clothes lying around if that is more to your liking. I can spare some of them for you.", Rachel offered.

Max thought about it. Rachel's clothes fit her, no doubt. She remembered telling Chloe that her styles didn't quite match back when she offered her the other Rachel's clothes. But she had to admit, once she was rocking that flannel for a while, she grew accustomed to it. In a weird way, it felt like it was giving her a confidence boost. It was certainly leagues ahead of this posh stuff she was forced to wear at the moment. Plus, a part of her liked the idea of her and Rachel having matching styles.

"I think I will take you up on that.", Max agreed.

"I was hoping we could stop by my place anyway this evening. I would like for you to meet my parents."

Max hadn't even thought about that yet. She knew little to nothing about them, other than that they were originally in denial about Rachel's disappearance. Chloe never went into any detail when it came to Rachel's parentage.

"What do your parents think of me? I would just like to have an idea of what kind of welcome I'm in for, that's all.", Max asked.

"Mom loves you, even if she thinks you are sometimes a bit of a diva. I don't think we need to worry about that anymore though. My dad..."

Rachel went silent. Her expression suddenly went grave and she looked down at the table. Was she hiding something?

"Well, let's just say he had a hard time agreeing with me seeing you. It's not because you are a girl or anything, he's just super paranoid. But then, again it's his job to be. Don't make any stupid jokes about him or question his authority and you should be fine."

"No pressure huh?", Max chuckled.

Her parents didn't sound like bad folks. Besides, it was hard to imagine someone like Rachel having mean parents. And after dealing with David, how bad could they possibly be?

"Hey, check this out.", Max said, having pulled out her phone to show Rachel the sketch that Daniel made.

"Wow, that looks great. Who made it?", she asked.

"Daniel made this for me during a break from school. He was also interested in having the chance to draw you posing as well, but he is too shy to ask you. He calls you his muse."

Rachel giggled.

"That's too cute. Daniel is a nice guy. He doesn't deserve the hate the jocks give him. Plus, that _is_ an awesome art piece. If you see him first, let him know that I'm fine with it and I will text him a time."

"I'm sure he will have a heart attack, but I will tell him."

Rachel's face suddenly became serious.

"Max, there is something I need to tell you. I've been debating on how to tell you about this all day, but simply can't find the words. Do you remember our game of Two Truths and a Lie? The lie I told you was that you made a video, which was incorrect. It was I who made one _for you_ before you moved over here. I would like for you to watch it again. It will explain it best, as my memory about this event was still fresh at the time. I think after you watched it you will know just how much we meant to each other at the time and ever since. I think its the best way to show you that I am serious about us, no matter what the other Rachel may have done."

Max wasn't entirely surprised by this. This whole time it felt like Rachel was keeping something from her, but not necessarily out of malice. Maybe it was something so serious that the right moment had simply not arrived yet. Her curiosity about the whole video thing was there ever since Rachel mentioned it.

"I would love to. I want to know more about us. Must be hard for you to treat me like a first date all over again. I wish I could remember.", Max said.

"I will show you. I promise.", Rachel replied while holding Max's hand.

They then noticed Joyce coming with a tray of food and drink.

"Alright you two lovebirds, here are your two omelets and waters. Enjoy!", Joyce said before attending the other customers.

* * *

They decimated their meals in no time. No matter the timeline, it seemed Two Whales still had the best food in Arcadia Bay.

"I take it this isn't your first visit here?", Rachel asked.

"Far from it. I used to eat here all the time before I went to Seattle. Joyce always had room for us."

"You and Chloe I'm assuming? Man, I'm so sorry you had to see your old friend like that. I know I was steaming mad at her for no good reason.", Rachel said, sounding rather embarrassed.

"In hindsight, I don't mind it.", Max replied. "It showed that you really cared. I felt guilty as all hell. I should have paid more attention to you.", Max apologized.

"Max, you hardly knew me, in fact you still don't really. I might as well have been a stranger when I walked up to you. You didn't choose to be unattentive. You had someone else on your mind and I couldn't deal with that at the time. I had no idea."

"I know, but I still feel like that could have gone better.", Max said.

"Speaking of choices, Max. You never told me why exactly you did what you did. What caused you to go back in time in the first place?"

Max was afraid this question was going to come up sooner or later. But like she always did, she decided to be brutally honest about it. She hoped Rachel wasn't going to take this the wrong way.

"Rachel... this is complicated but I will tell you what happened. Just promise me not to take offense ok?"

"Tell me, Max. Please."

"Well, Chloe and I were investigating your disappearance and why Kate Marsh ended up on the Blackwell roof. We decided to check out the RV of this drug dealer called Frank Bowers. Remember I asked you about him? Well, as it turns out I asked you for a reason. We broke into his RV while he was eating in the diner. Inside, we found evidence that he was the one who sold drugs to Nathan and other students. Kate was drugged at a Vortex Club party and someone filmed a video of her making out with a bunch of guys. The video went viral and her life turned into a living hell. She would never do such a thing under normal circumstances, I knew her too well for that. She tried to kill herself as a result until I managed to stop her at the last second."

"Wow. That is fucking awful.", Rachel said with a shocked expression. "But Max, why would this hurt me to know?"

"That's just it, there was something else, the catalyst of this whole event. I also found out that you and Frank had a secret relationship. I found letters and pictures of you two. And also..."

Max pointed her finger at the bracelet she had.

"He was wearing this."

Rachel's eyes went wide but she remained quiet.

"When I showed Chloe the evidence, she underwent a total meltdown. I've never seen her so angry before. On our way to the dorm, she cried and blamed her dad's death for all of this. She felt abandoned by the world and I can't entirely blame her for that in hindsight. Her dad died, only days later I moved to Seattle and didn't keep in touch and then this happened. You were the only thing keeping her grounded and now she had lost you too. I was sitting in my room looking at an old picture taken on the day of William's death. Suddenly I felt myself being pulled inside and appeared in the past. You know the rest. I changed history and appeared here."

Rachel fell back into the cushioned booth. With a total expression of shock painted on her face.

"I... I don't know what to say.", she uttered. "How dare... why the hell..."

Fearing the worst, Max tried to calm her down.

"Rachel, please, you gotta understand that I only tried to help my friend. I wish I hadn't seen what I did but I have."

Rachel's expression was one of bitterness.

"I'm not mad at you Max. I'm disgusted by _myself_. That bracelet I gave you? I wouldn't just give that away to anyone like that. I don't know Chloe very well, but I can tell you for a fact that I could never do this to you. You gotta believe me. I don't care who this Frank guy is, but I swear by my soul that this doesn't sound like me. I love you and only you."

Relieved, Max replied by saying, "I believe you, Rachel. After yesterday, I wouldn't ever doubt you."

"Thank you, Max. That means a lot to me. Boy, would I like to have a talk with the other Rachel and give her a piece of my mind right now."

After a moment of letting it all sink in, Rachel looked up at Max.

"Thank you for telling me about this. This must have been hard to carry on your shoulders this whole time.", she said.

"It was. I guess your life went a different path where I come from."

"It's no excuse. But I know that there was a time when all I wanted to was to look for escape."

"Escape?"

Rachel's usual poker-face faded away. Her inner turmoil becoming all too obvious.

"Max, do you know how hard it is to live up to a reputation like mine? Everyone thinks you are perfect. Everyone thinks you can do anything and succeed without failure. I have been trying to be what people want me to be. But you know what? It is hard. People, yourself included, always told me that I make it look easy to have straight "A's" all the time and to never falter under pressure. But in the end... even I can cave in."

Max herself was far from a star student, but pressure and stress of performing were no strangers to her. She kept listening.

"I have made mistakes in the past in order to escape reality and I'm not proud of them. In the interest of this renewed relationship I offer you to know about them, if you wish to."

Rachel offered her insight into her past. This couldn't have been easy for her, considering that Max had only scratched the surface when it came to anything personal about her.

"I'd like to hear it. But only if you are comfortable telling me.", Max ended up saying.

"I used to party pretty hard. My friends and I would go to any place that allowed us to let loose for a while, no matter how shady the establishment was. Concerts, bars, you name it. I always knew the best places that didn't card you or would turn a blind eye if you were "nice enough". It let to some uncomfortable and at times dangerous situations. I would get drunk off my ass or high, would get violent and over time got into more fights than I care to admit, all of which were over trivial bullshit. I hooked up with people that I would never see again and broke hearts wherever I went. If you thought the Vortex Club parties were inappropriate... then you certainly wouldn't approve of me doing that anymore."

To Max, this sounded all too familiar.

"You might be surprised, but to me this isn't exactly unexpected.", she said.

"How can you say that?"

"Because I know Chloe probably did more or less the same things in my absence. I have a gut feeling that's how you two met each other."

"So... you aren't mad at me?"

"This happened in the distant past right?"

"I stopped doing quite as many parties after we got to know each other better. I would still go out with friends, but I would exercise better restraint and tried to stay out of trouble, which I managed to... most of the time. This was after a particular event."

"A particular event?", Max asked.

"My video will tell you all about that. After that, once you came here, we still regularly went to the Vortex Club parties. But my escapades never reached that same level of ultra violence again."

So it would appear a few things she heard about Rachel were true. She was a partying fiend once a upon a time. But it appears that Max had managed to change that to a degree.

"Thank you for trusting me with this."

"Max, you are the only person I can be real and honest with without being afraid of what I'm gonna get to hear. Of course I trust you to know this, it's your right as far as I'm concerned."

"I might not be a flawless student, but I can relate to your stress."

"Tell me about yours. I mean, if it's anything like with the previous Max then I will have heard this before, but I wish to hear it from you.", Rachel requested.

"I deal with anxiety a lot. Every day at school feels like it's out to get me. I worry about grades but I'm too damn shy to speak up in class to participate more. People like Victoria don't exactly help either. We should all be nice to each other, I mean no one really wants to go school, so why cause conflict? This whole Kate thing is still fresh in my memory. And then there's the constant judging. One minute it's your clothes that suck, then it's your haircut, your shoes or the fact that I had the gaul to show up to class to begin with. I regularly undergo crying sessions just to get through the day. Well... except today."

"What changed? Is school better now that you are here?"

"It's different, but that's not it."

Max could feel her hands getting sweaty and her heart beating faster ever so slightly.

"I had something to look forward to today.", she said. It was blatantly obvious what she was referring to and Rachel must have known this too. It took her a lot of courage to say this, but Max saw no reason to hold back her feelings after Rachel had opened up to her so willingly. It was as if her confidence rubbed off on Max in a way.

The look that Rachel gave her was one of both relief as well as joy.

"You don't know how happy it makes me hear you say that."

Max wasn't sure what to say, she hadn't planned this far ahead. It was up to Rachel to do something about the awkward silence that ensued.

"Shall we go? Are you ready to meet my parents?", she asked.

"Yes, let's do this. I admit I have been curious about them.", Max replied.

* * *

On the way to the house of the Ambers, Max talked to Chloe over the phone. She forgave Rachel for the broken snow globe and thanked Max for visiting her again. Despite all the drama that went down, she hadn't been happier than she had been in a long time.

"Did you have a good day at school?", Chloe asked her.

"It was ok. I'm still getting used to having new teachers and stuff but I think it will work out in the long run."

"That makes me happy, Max. Hey, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come over for Halloween. I know I won't be trick or treating anyone anymore, but I would still love to hang out and maybe watch a scary movie with you. Rachel is of course invited as well if she is ok with it."

"I will ask her."

She turned to address Rachel.

"Would you mind having a Halloween party at Chloe's place? It's nothing big, but she would like for us to be there."

"Yeah, I'm cool with it. Any excuse to dress up. Gives me the opportunity to pay her back for that snowglobe too. And yes, I insist on that!"

"Alright Chloe, Rachel is ok with it."

"Awesome. I hope to see you again soon."

"You will, there is no way I'd forget you."

"Same. Bye, Max."

"Bye, Chloe."

* * *

Once they arrived at the residence, Max was quite surprised by how great this place looked. Way out of the price range of the average family. It was a stark contrast to the Price's home that she had been to so often. There had to more laminated wood in this house than in a home improvement store.

Rachel was about to get the door open when she froze in place. Staring into the night sky.

"Max... please tell me you are seeing this too?!", she uttered in disbelief at what she saw.

Max turned in the direction she was looking.

"Oh my god. What is this?!"

For a moment she thought she saw double. There were two full moons in the night sky now. Max rubbed her eyes but they remained.

"Max, what does this mean?", Rachel asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"I have no idea, I haven't seen _this_ before."

The two stellar bodies were way too close to each other and looked like they could collide any at moment. But Max couldn't spot any movement. They even looked exactly the same as each other. The moon had an identical twin.

Max snapped a picture with her phone. No way in hell was she gonna let this photo opportunity get away. As soon as she did, one of the moons disappeared, fading out of existence like a shadow dispersed by the light. Max checked the picture she just took. It showed without a doubt two moons.

Rachel and Max looked at each other in bewilderment. The second moon didn't come back. After a moment they went inside, their minds still trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. Yet another strange occurrence that no one could possibly explain.

The inside of the Amber house was spacious and warm feeling. It was decorated with a wall dedicated to Rachel's educational achievements as well as her dad's law books and awards. Fancy lamps and recliners created a very comfortable looking living room.

A man saw them enter and approached. This must have been Rachel's father. He was tall with dark hair. Max could tell that he had a commanding aura about him. Maybe this was where Rachel got hers from?

"Good evening Rachel, did you have a good day at school?", he asked.

"Yeah, it was alright. I hope you don't mind that I brought Max along with me?"

He turned to Max and responded by saying, "Not at all. We've already eaten dinner though. My apologies."

"It's ok.", Rachel answered. "We've already eaten at the Two Whales after school. I did leave mom a text. Listen, dad, I have to tell you something. Max has been suffering a slight case of amnesia lately because she hit her head, so don't be mad if she doesn't know something. Pretty sure its just temporary though."

"Oh? That's unfortunate. I thought you preferred to be called Maxine?", he asked.

"Max. Never Maxine.", Max said.

"I see. Well, in that case, Its good to see you again, Max."

"Same, Mr. Amber.", she replied.

"You can call me James. There is no need to be formal."

Then suddenly, they heard a voice from upstairs.

"Is Rachel home?", a female voice called.

"Yes, honey and she has brought Max along with her."

"Oh. I'll be right down."

Coming down the stairs came Mrs. Amber.

"Rose, Max hit her head so she might be somewhat forgetful. Just a heads-up.", James told her.

"Oh no, how did that happen?", Rose asked.

"Uh, I was trying to take pictures and I hit my head trying to get a good angle.", Max explained.

There was no way they would buy her real story. A white lie would have to do for now. Rachel gave her a knowing look, eye-brow raised.

"Sorry to hear that. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, Mrs. Amber. I will keep that in mind.", Max replied.

They seemed like nice people.

"Did you guys see the moon outside?", Rachel asked her parents.

"No, honey, why?", Rose asked.

"Nevermind. If what I think we saw was true then you are going to see it on the news soon enough."

"Well, it is said that strange things can happen during a full moon. People acting strange or irrational, loss of sleep and animals acting aggressively have all been attributed to it.", James said.

Max fairly convinced that no one could explain what they had just seen though.

"Max and I will be upstairs.", Rachel said.

"Alright you two, have a good night.", Rose said.

* * *

They proceeded to head up the stairs to Rachel's room. It was quite welcoming. The room was very tidy, the walls were covered with travel posters, most of them about Seattle. There were also posters about astrology, apparently, Rachel liked studying zodiacs.

"Welcome home, Max.", Rachel exclaimed. "This where we spent untold hours, both online and in real life. There is no place I feel closer to you than here."

In a strange way, it did feel familiar to her. It felt like her mind was trying to remember that it was once here but couldn't. An odd sensation.

"I like it. It suits you well.", Max said.

After putting up their bags, Rachel grabbed a USB stick and gave it to Max.

"This contains the video I mentioned. Are you ready to see this?", Rachel asked her with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Yes. I'm ready."

After booting up her laptop, Rachel got the video playing. It was a video message to Max, dated June 2010. This must have been around the time had Chloe met her originally.

They both sat next to each other at the desk, watching.

On the video, Max saw a slightly younger Rachel. She looked virtually unchanged ever since and no less radiant. She seemed distraught about something, however, and near tears.

"Maxine, I know I've been acting strangely lately and have been avoiding you. I'm terribly sorry for doing that. These past few weeks were hell on Earth. I know I should have just told on the messenger what happened, but I just couldn't, I had to tell you personally, or at least as personal as this video allows me to. I found out recently that I've been deceived by my own family. Do you remember Rose? She is not my mom. My dad has been lying to me my whole life. I snuck into his office one day when he carelessly left it open and found letters from a birth mother I didn't know I had. My dad tried to explain himself, but nothing he said made it any better. He used a criminal to scare my real mom into submission and to make her leave me alone. Could you believe this? Ever since then our relationship has been strained. I don't think I can ever truly forgive him for this. I've never met my real mom and probably never will. The pain I've gone through, you cannot imagine it. But the worst part? I thought about just ending it all. I contemplated throwing myself under a bus, a train or steal someone's gun and just make the pain go away forever. But I couldn't. At the last second, I would always stop. The only reason I didn't go through with it was that you were there for me the whole time, while no one else was. Just talking to you over the internet has helped me more than anything anyone else has ever done. I know we've only known each other since last year. I considered myself blessed being able to call you my friend up until this point. But there is something I want you to know. I... I love you, Maxine. I love you so much. There, it's out. I couldn't contain it any longer. You are the reason I'm still alive. You are so kind and caring and never turned me away when I needed you. I fully understand if you don't feel the same way, but I needed you to know this. I hope that someday, we finally meet for real. That will be my dream to hang on to. No matter what happens then or however you feel about me, I will always be by your side. Thank you for everything you have done. Words could never describe how grateful I am. I hope to hear from you soon. You are indeed my "noir angel". I love you, your Rachel."

When the video ended, Max overwhelmed by emotions washing over her like a monsoon. She saved Rachel's life. That explained everything. Now she knew why this Rachel was fiercely loyal to her, unlike her counterpart who saw other people behind Chloe's back. Digging deep, she also knew for sure what she was feeling for Rachel now. She was in love as well. It was as if memories and feelings from another life came to the surface. It was the strongest emotion she had ever felt. This feeling refused to remain hidden now.

Rachel had sat quietly next to her the whole time, watching her reaction to every word.

Max turned her head to her and looked her straight into the eyes.

"Oh my god Rachel, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Now you know, Max. Now you know why you mean the world to me."

At that moment, all mental barriers in Max gave in, allowing her to let her emotions run free.

She gently put her hands on each side of Rachel's shoulders. She remained unfazed and didn't move a muscle. Then Max kissed her. This, however, was a far cry from the playful kiss that she and Chloe shared. There was nothing in the universe Max wanted more right now. For a brief moment afterward, she pulled back. Rachel's expression was one of pure longing. She must have been waiting for this moment ever since they met yesterday.

"Rachel... I love you too."

Then Max kissed her again, this time for real.

Rachel reciprocated it. Max's mind was going haywire but she didn't care.

Before they realized it happened, both her and Rachel landed on her bed, their bodies inseparable. Max knew for a fact that she had never french kissed before. Now she knew what that felt like and she savored it. She didn't want to stop there. She surrendered herself entirely to the experience. She threw off her blazer, which got way too hot for comfort now. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and this fire was hungry. Even Rachel seemed surprised by her sudden energy.

"Max, if you are afraid of this, you don't have to do this. I don't wish to force you into something you aren't comfortable with.", she said out of precaution.

"No, this is perfect. I want this.", Max answered.

"You know, this is the only bed in this room. Where are you going to stay tonight?", Rachel asked with a fiendish smile.

"Right here will do."

"But this is _my_ bed, how are you gonna get me out of it?", Rachel teased.

"Then we just have to share it won't we?

"Oh really? Who says I'm allowing you to share it with me?"

"I do."

"Then you better _make_ me.", Rachel said in a seductive manner.

More and more clothes went flying across the room, as they enveloped each other. Now being skin to skin, Max had never felt something this intense before.

That's when she knew, that this was going to be the greatest night of her whole life.


	6. Embers

Max couldn't recall when she fell asleep. In her dreams, she felt herself reliving the moments of last night over and over. If she were to never wake again, this wouldn't be a bad dream to be stuck with.

Opening her eyes, she was afraid that the whole experience was just a fever dream. But, she found herself waking right next to Rachel, holding her in her arms and all of her clothes spread all over the room. She felt a major relief. This was real, it really happened. Rachel was still asleep, looking like a slumbering angel. She felt warm and silky soft.

She thought about what had happened. She let her emotions dictate her actions last night. She must have genuinely wanted it. After finding out what incredible impact she had on Rachel and considering how she has been treating her despite all that had happened before, she simply couldn't hold back any longer. Overcoming her inner shyness took all her strength but once it was done, it felt like the best thing in the world.

Looking at her phone, there was still plenty of time before school. She wanted to savor the moment a little longer and decided to wake Rachel the only way she knew how.

Meanwhile, Rachel had dreams of her own. She also dreamt about seeing herself on a computer screen in tears but filled with so much hope at the same time that Max could be there for her. Then suddenly, she was brought back to reality. She felt an odd sensation and opened her eyes. Max had kissed her on the cheek.

"Good morning beautiful, how are you feeling?", she asked Max.

"Better than ever. You?"

"Amazing. I want you to know that this meant a lot to me, Max. What you did last night must have taken a lot of courage. I respect that a lot, considering as far as you are concerned, we more or less just met."

Max's face went red again.

"I... I've never been with anyone like that before.", she said somewhat shyly.

"Could have fooled me. You seemed to know what you were doing. Also, you seemed to enjoy yourself.", Rachel said with one of her signature winks.

"I don't know what came over me, it just happened. But it felt so right in that moment."

"Either way, you won't hear _me_ complaining!", Rachel said with a giggle.

"Uh, it must have been difficult for you to restrain yourself until then. I could tell you wanted nothing more than to show me your passion all day yesterday, but you didn't."

"Was I that obvious? So much for my poker-face standing up to your scrutiny. But yeah, like it or not Max, you are both cute and attractive. Deal with it.", Rachel said with another wink.

"I've never considered myself particularly attractive. But then again, beauty is a subjective thing."

"It's not all that matters you know? You can attract people with more than just your appearance, Max."

She had a point there. Max couldn't help but be drawn to Rachel ever since they met. Even before that, it seemed that there had been some kind of otherworldly quality to her that defied rational explanation.

After remaining in bed for a little while longer and enjoying each others company, they decided it was time to get up.

"Ok, I need a new set of clothes.", Max proclaimed.

"There should be something suitable in that closet over there", Rachel pointed out while dressing herself.

Max went in and searched. She found a few things to her liking, including a blue flannel that looked awfully familiar. Looking over at Rachel's pile of tossed away clothes from last night, Max couldn't help but notice something.

"This is literally the exact same thing as yours in blue, it even has just as many holes. What do you think?"

She held it in front of herself.

"Oh, you mean you and me walking around with a partner look? Go for it girl!", Rachel encouraged her.

When Max was done putting it all on, she couldn't help but be reminded of when she had originally tried virtually the same clothes in Chloe's room a little while back. Except this jacket was blue, not red. Then she had a silly idea.

Rachel had watched her closely. It felt so bizarre to her to see someone else in her clothes. However, she liked what she saw. Max started to walk towards her before striking a pose.

"Ready for the mosh pit shaka brah?"

Rachel burst out laughing.

"Well, apparently _you_ are. Are you really up for it? I know Firewalk will be playing in the area soon.", Rachel said with excitement.

"I've never been to an event like that. But with you around? Sure why not?"

"You will love it, we have done this many times. Just follow my lead and you will be ok."

Once Rachel got into her clothes, Max insisted to take a picture for the occasion. They stood in front of a mirror and she pulled out her phone.

"One of these days I gotta get another instant camera. But I suppose this will have to do for now. At least I can get these printed.", she said.

The snapped the picture.

"We look hella awesome.", Rachel remarked.

"Yeah, we do. I feel like a boss in this."

"Where do think I get it from?", Rachel said with a smirk. "Well, we better get ready for school then."

"Rachel...", Max said with a dark expression marking her face. "The storm I warned you about. This is it. This is the day."

"What do you suggest we do? It doesn't look bad outside to me."

"I have no idea when it's supposed to happen. It could be in 5 minutes, it could be tonight. It was so dark in my vision I couldn't tell what time of day it was because of all the clouds. I would guess late in the day, but I don't know for sure."

"Do you think we should do something about it?"

"Rachel, I may have powers but I cannot stop a mega-storm like this. It is a monster like the kind you would only ever see in a movie."

"Do your powers still work?"

"Uh, I don't know, I've been too scared to use them. I can try though. Think of a codeword only you know. But you gotta tell me first, obviously. I will rewind and tell you it before you say it."

"Ok, let's go with "wowser", I believe you use that all the time."

"Ok, see you in a moment."

Max reached out and tried to rewind like she had done dozens of times before. It worked! She could feel the world shifting and time was flowing backward. Coming out of the rewind, Rachel was still standing in the same spot. So far, so good.

"Ok, I'm trying to use my powers on you now. Try to think of a codeword only you would know but don't tell me."

"Uh, we've gone over this already. Did you rewind yet?"

Max was utterly confused.

"Wait, what?"

"I told you. Just a moment ago. I told you the word was wowser."

"Ok, hold on." Max's head was spinning trying to make heads or tails of this.

"You are telling me that you remember it all? That's impossible, you couldn't, I already reversed time!"

"I swear that's what happened."

"Ok let me try something else then. Alright, I'm going to stand right here."

Max pointed at the exact spot she was standing.

"I will move over to the bed in an instant. Watch."

Max walked over to the bed and reversed time again. Reversing the exact amount of time it took her to move her there.

"How about that? I just moved several feet in an instant!"

Rachel was utterly unimpressed from the looks of it.

"Max all you did was walk across the room and stretch out your hand. I saw you move."

Then suddenly, it felt like a glass window had just shattered inside Max's brain. Rachel saw her move?! How? She shouldn't have been able to!

"Wait. Rachel are you telling you actually _witnessed_ me reversing time?!"

"I guess so, but I couldn't tell."

"Ok, one more test, for real this time."

Max picked up a sock off the ground and let it drop. It fell, obeying gravity. She reversed time with her free hand and the sock floated right back up into it, watching Rachel closely while doing so.

"Holy shit, Max, did you just do that?!", Rachel said in shock.

"I did."

"That was fucking insane!", Rachel exclaimed out of breath.

That was the irrefutable proof. For some reason, the rewind did not seem to affect Rachel at all!

"Rachel, this is not how I know this power is supposed to work. No one else should be able to see me do this. You are the first person I know that could. It seems that when I do this, you are along for the ride! Wowser..."

If there was as much as a sliver of doubt left in Rachel's mind when it came to Max's time travel story, this demonstration obliterated it.

"Max, I don't know why this is happening, but man, wowser indeed! I guess I'm full of surprises."

"Tell me about it! I thought I was the only one who could witness this."

"Well, you know what I always say, Max. Life needs a little mystery. And this is an interesting one."

Then a crazy thought came to Max's mind. What if she wasn't the only one able to rewind?

"How about you try it, Rachel? Reach out with your hand like this and try to think of the exact amount of time you want to go back. If you can do it, it should be as natural to you as breathing."

"I don't know about this, but ok, here goes nothing!", she said.

Rachel reached out and tried her hardest to rewind by just a few seconds. Nothing happened.

"Nada, nothing, nichts, nyet. I don't feel a thing. Am I doing this right?"

"No, that looked correct. Damn, guess I'm the only time sorceress then. But how crazy is this?"

Rachel then remembered something from two days ago.

"Oh wait a minute. So _that's_ what you were trying to do that one time! Remember when I interrogated you by using my game? You tried to go back in time and provide me with the right answers! Oh, I've got your number now Max. You weren't reaching out to me, you tried to _cheat_ instead!", she said while nudging Max in the shoulder with her fist in a playful manner.

Max felt embarrassed but tried to counter her argument.

"I know and at the time that seemed to be the only thing to do. I didn't want to upset you more than necessary. It wasn't my intention to deceive you, all I wanted was to defuse the situation. But that doesn't matter anymore because it didn't work. I would have told you this if it did though.", Max said with her eyes towards the ground.

"I'm not upset over this. I would have done the same. Winners make their own rules, Max. Words to live... and love by."

"I honestly thought you would tear me a new one for that."

"It's what I would have done before last night perhaps, but I'm afraid I know you better than you think. But you said it didn't work anyway right?"

"It didn't. It felt like something was blocking me."

"Hm. Maybe the fact I was so mad at you had something to do with it. I didn't exactly feel like letting you have your way you know.", Rachel said with her arms crossed.

"I know, maybe it's better that you are unaffected by this. I would hate to use it against you anyway."

"I appreciate the sentiment.", Rachel said in a flirty way.

Max's face went grave.

"Rachel I'm serious, I'm scared to death as to what might happen today. Just promise me to stay close to me after school. I have seen this thing completely obliterate the town. I... I don't want to think about losing you but... this truly terrifies me. I know you only have my word to believe me. Rewind or no rewind, I can't stop this, I don't see how."

"I will never leave your side, Max. And who knows, maybe we will get lucky and it won't happen?"

Max wished she could share Rachel's optimism. She hadn't seen first-hand what this thing was capable of.

"Ok, how about this.", Max suggested. "We will go through our day like normal. If something goes wrong, we agree to rush to the car and go to the lighthouse. In my vision that seemed out of the way of the tornado but we still have to be careful. If we lose each other somehow, we agree to meet at the lighthouse still. What do you think?"

Rachel seemed to think it over.

"Sounds good to me. Where exactly did you see it coming from?"

"In my vision, it seemed to have formed out at sea and came eastward straight into the town. It didn't go towards the lighthouse."

"Ok, sounds like a plan. If I notice anything I will let you know immediately, I promise."

"Same to you.", Max said.

* * *

The two then headed to school after bidding goodbye to Rose after leaving her a similar warning about possible inclement weather and told her to stay safe just in case. James was busy working already so Rachel left him a message instead. A part of her really felt like not doing so, which hurt her greatly. Rachel had a terrible time forgiving people. Max left Chloe and William a warning over the phone as well. Whether anyone was going to take it seriously was another matter entirely.

Once they arrived at Blackwell, they once again walked hand in hand into the schoolyard trying to continue the day like normal. But this time, Max felt different about it. She didn't feel as much anxiety anymore or shame for the attention she drew. Instead, she felt unyielding pride. She glanced to the side at Rachel, who was more radiant than ever. Together, they walked in like they owned the place. Passing Victoria, Max couldn't help but notice her expression of pure jealousy.

They came across Daniel, who once again took up residence under his favorite tree. Max pointed him out to Rachel and she then decided to pay him a visit.

"Good morning there, Daniel.", Rachel said.

He looked up and froze like a deer in the headlights. He was clearly not prepared for this.

"Oh hi Rachel, hey Max! Uh... how are you doing?"

"We are doing pretty good. I heard you are interested in drawing me?", Rachel asked.

"I uh, yeah I would love to. If you would allow that of course. I'm not sure if I can live up to your image though."

"Well, a little bird told me that you call me your muse. Is that so?"

Daniel went as red as a setting sun and couldn't speak a word.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well then, Picasso, give it your best shot.", Rachel said.

She started to pose for him on the lawn, basking in the morning light. She was a natural at this and it was quite obvious that she enjoyed this a great deal. Daniel started drawing, even though he seemed very nervous, he wasn't about to pass up on this chance. Max could tell based on his expression that he couldn't believe his luck.

"Alright, it is finished!", he exclaimed.

Max and Rachel checked out the result. It was amazing. Max wanted to make it her phone background as soon as she could. However, now her classes began.

"No matter what happens today Rachel, I will see you later."

"You will, Max."

Fearing the worst, Max gave her a hug.

"I love you.", she said.

"I love you too."

They shared a kiss.

* * *

With that, they parted ways and proceeded to their classes. Max spent the day like she was electrified. Ready to rush for Rachel and get out of there at any moment. She could feel her heart racing for a good half hour into her first class, but things remained calm. Finally, with the final ringing of the bell, her school day was over.

She and Rachel met outside like usual and they were about to head to the car when suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the sky darkened and loud thunder erupted. The day went from a bright and sunny one to a suppressive grey sky within seconds. It seemed completely unnatural. As the feeling of terror was rising in Max, a massive vortex started forming off the coast of Arcadia Bay.

The storm came.

* * *

"We gotta go, NOW! We've got to get to the lighthouse!", Max yelled.

With Rachel in tow and students panicking around them, they managed to get to the car.

As they drove, trying to deal with the increased traffic, the storm continued to grow in strength. Winds started screaming and the sea became a maelstrom of crashing waves.

Rachel tried calling her parents but was unable to reach them, the phone refused to work.

"You gotta be kidding me, the one time I need this fucking thing to work!"

"We warned them, it's all we could do.", Max tried to calm her while trying to focus on the road.

They were almost there. The lighthouse was their only refuge in this storm.

Then they ran into a traffic jam. Several cars had crashed and there was no way through them.

"We gotta walk, come on!", Rachel told Max with urgency.

They ran for their lives as did other people around , however, were the only ones at the lighthouse when they arrived.

Reaching the peak of the cliffside, they stood in awe of the twister that continued to grow in size and power. This was it. This is exactly what Max saw in her vision. She felt utterly powerless.

Out at sea, they could spot several boats attempting to escape the raging storm. Most of them couldn't resist the massive pull of the wind and the tornado picked them off one by one much like a child would pick up toy cars and throw them across a playpen.

"This is all my fault! All of this!", Max uttered.

"Why would you say that Max?", Rachel asked in disbelief.

"Look at what happened all week long! First snow, then animals dying and... and now this! My powers must have caused this, there is no other explanation!"

Then the storm started heading towards the town. Within moments it would make direct contact and leave nothing in its wake.

Rachel was tearing up.

"Max, I know I hated what my dad had done. But even he doesn't deserve this! And while Rose may not be my real mom that doesn't mean I don't love her. Please do something, I beg of you!"

Even though it seemed utterly futile, Max would be damned if she didn't try something. The reached out and with her mind focused on the storm.

The rewind moved back time, but it was pointless. Every time she went back, time caught up again. All she did was to delay the storm's impact. Worst of all, she wasn't helping anyone doing so, as everyone but her and Rachel were affected by the rewind.

Max's nose started to bleed and she fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"MAX!", Rachel's call seemed distant, Max's mind was spinning out of control and she was struggling to stay conscious. Her vision went blurry.

She could feel Rachel coming to her side, shaking her but she was too weak to respond.

Rachel, realizing that Max was most likely unconscious, turned and faced the storm.

In her mind, she pictured the death of her family. The death of her friends and worst of all, the death of Max.

No, it couldn't end this way. She would be defiant until the very end. In her anguish, she unleashed a loud cry of desperation.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the twister was hit by an invisible force that opposed it.

When Max came to wake she saw Rachel seemingly focused on the storm. Was she trying to stop it? Another cry by Rachel was followed by another blow to the storm, in an effort to shunt it out of the bay area.

Then Rachel collapsed as well. Whatever it is she tried to do, it wasn't enough from the looks of it.

Now the storm headed straight for the town, picking up speed as it went. Nothing would stop it now.

Max closed her eyes, she couldn't bear to see this.

She covered her face, mentally preparing for the sound of Arcadia Bay's demise.

But then, silence fell upon the land.

From one second to the next, the storm was gone.


	7. Aftershock

Max opened her eyes after a moment of unexpected silence and couldn't believe what she saw. The storm was gone. However, the clouds remained and it poured down heavily.

She ran over to Rachel who had fallen to the ground. Could this have been her doing after all?

Rachel seemed conscious but felt very weak. Max tried to get her attention.

"Rachel, are you ok? Please, say something!"

"I'm ok Max, just drained. Give me a second.", she said with a weak voice.

Not wanting to leave her side, Max laid her arm around her to comfort her.

"This is not what I saw.", Max said. "The storm I witnessed in my vision destroyed everything. I don't know how you did it, but I think you may have just saved the whole town from disaster!"

"Max... I don't think that was me. I tried something but I felt overwhelmed."

Seeing no other probable reason, Max wasn't sure what assume. Perhaps they should just count their blessings that the storm vanished in the first place. They staggered back to the car, thankfully most of the road had been cleared since they were forced to leave it behind.

As Rachel started becoming more aware, she immediately pulled out her phone to contact her parents. She got a response this time.

"Dad! Are you and mom ok? Please tell me you are fine!", she said.

"We are ok honey, the storm didn't get to us. The house took some damage from flying debris, but everyone is fine. Where are you?"

"Max and I are back on the road."

"Good, we will be waiting for you. Please, stay safe!"

"We will, dad."

After hanging up the phone she looked at Max.

"I should have never doubted you. You saved my life again, Max. Thanks for the warning."

"I'm starting to make a habit of that it seems."

"Well, I for one hope you won't break it."

* * *

As they drove into town, they noticed the damage the tornado had done. Even just being in its vicinity had dealt a blow to Arcadia Bay. Planks of wooden debris littered the scene. Even some of the boats and whales were literally dropped out of the sky. Ambulances were rushing in to evacuate injured victims of the storm. Max also spotted quite a few dead bodies but didn't recognize any of them at a glance. Was this all her fault? Did her manipulation of time cause all of this? She had the tornado vision before she ever even used her power in that bathroom, which now felt like ages ago though. The bathroom... Chloe!

With Rachel driving, Max whipped out her phone and quickly dialed Chloe's number. No one was picking up, even after several attempted calls.

"Rachel, I need to check on Chloe. Can we stop at their place first?"

"Deja vu much?"

"Please don't make this difficult Rachel. I need to know that she's alright. No one is picking up the phone there."

"I know better this time. Don't worry. I know you'd do the same for me."

"Thank you."

* * *

Rachel drove them back to the Price residence. The storm may not have hit the town directly, but it still did a number on it. As they approached it seemed from a distance like the house took superficial damage at most. But then Max noticed an ambulance parked in front of the house. Did someone get hurt? Imagining the worst, Max hastily got out of the car and ran towards the scene. She saw William and Joyce. He was keeping her in a hug and they were in tears. Max's heart sunk. A stretcher was brought out of the house, carried by several paramedics. It was covered up.

"CHLOE!", Max screamed in horror.

She ran towards the paramedics and tried her best to be coherent.

"What happened!? Is he alright? Did she get hurt by the storm?!"

One of the paramedics approached her, with a grim expression on his face.

"Are you family?", he asked.

"I'm her best friend. Please tell me what happened here!"

"There is nothing we could have done. She was already gone by the time we got here. It wasn't the storm though. She died due to her respiratory system having failed, at least that's the estimation. I'm sorry for your loss. Sorry to cut this short, but we have many other people to attend to as well."

For Max, the whole world seemed to fall apart at the seams. At first, she just stood motionlessly but then fell to the ground. Despite all the commotion around her, all she could hear was white noise.

Rachel watched the scene unfold from behind Max. Even she couldn't hold back tears at the sight of Chloe being carried off like this. This was the same girl that she wished never to have existed only two days ago. She felt deep shame for that now. She saw Max drop to the ground and she rushed to her side. She never wished for any of this, regardless of what she might have said before.

Max started to cry. The pain must have been excruciating.

Rachel did the only right thing she could think of and tried comforting her as much as she could. As she laid her arm around Max's shoulder, she did not resist and permitted her to embrace. Rachel wondered if she even felt anything. She remained with her for what felt like hours. But there was no other place Rachel would rather have been. Max was there for her when her life was darkest and gave her life a deeper meaning. The least she could do now was to do the same in return. Max earned that tenfold. She thought about what to say, but her own emotions ran rampant at this point and they continued their cries in unison. Maybe sharing the pain was going to help somehow.

After a while, they were the only ones left outside the house. William and Joyce deserved their privacy now. Rachel knew that there was nothing she could do for them at this time. Once she had regained some mental clarity again, she texted James to have them pick them and their car up. She didn't trust herself behind the wheel at this time.

Waiting for her dad, Rachel continued her watch over Max who was still out of it and continued sobbing. There was no getting through to her now and Rachel didn't feel like prying. That would only have made things worse than they already were.

* * *

Once James and Rose arrived, they all helped Max into the car. She was still petrified and probably didn't even notice them doing so. Sitting in the back of the car, Rachel held on to her hand the whole time. Max just kept staring out of the window into nothingness. Rachel wondered if she was aware that she was with her. It didn't matter though, she knew and that's all she needed to know. Most of her life Rachel had always put herself first. She would play mind games, trade favors and use her skills to get what she wanted. But ever since Max stepped into her life, that had changed. Someone else was her priority now. That someone needed her now.

While still on the road, Rachel could feel her phone buzzing. Principal Wells had sent out a message to the students. He prayed that everyone was fine and stated that school would be closed for the coming week. Apparently, Blackwell took a beating in that storm. Putting student safety first, they declared everything with the exception of the dorms off limits. Rachel couldn't find herself disagreeing with this. The school was the last thing on her mind at this point.

* * *

The next few days were hard to endure. Max wanted to stay with Rachel, so the Ambers decided to take her in for the time being. Regardless of what he had done in the past, James tried his best to be supportive, which Max appreciated. Even though she had eventually gotten out of her stupor, she still remained beside herself and would cry at random intervals. No one dared to blame her.

The media was buzzing about the incident. The storm dealt more damage than was initially apparent. Even though the twister itself never made direct contact with the coast prior to its sudden disappearance, it still managed to cause devastation. It was said the most heavily affected area was the site of Pan Estates, the construction project headed by Sean Prescott. The project was thrown back for months schedule-wise and may be canceled as a consequence. Rachel had no pity for this. The Prescotts practically swam in money.

During this time, Rachel was Max's rock. She encouraged Max to tell her what Chloe was like, that, the Chloe that Max knew best.

"She was something else.", Max said, searching her memories. "She wasn't afraid of anyone or anything, for better or worse. She waged a war against her stepdad, whom you only know as the school bus driver. She would always call him "stepdouche" and that's one of the nicer terms she had for him. He's a hardass ex-military guy with an ego to match. She even went as far to take one of his guns and keep it for herself."

"You make her sound pretty reckless.", Rachel pointed out.

"She kinda was, but she was still my friend. I had hoped that in time I could have had a positive influence on her. The last time we spoke, she was mad at me. That was right after she found out about... what the other Rachel did."

"I still have a hard time believing that. You said you saw letters and pictures right? What kind of pictures are we talking about here?", Rachel inquired.

"Well, most of them showed you having a good time, like the one where Frank took a picture of you driving his RV. But there were also some that I would rather not describe."

"I see.", Rachel responded.

"But at the end of the day, Chloe was my best friend. I know that must be hard to hear for you, considering as far as you are concerned, I've only ever been with you."

"I'm actually glad you weren't totally alone before we met. But you aren't anymore."

"Rachel, I cannot possibly overstate how grateful I am that you are here. Even though we only met so recently, I want you to know that I truly do love you."

"I would never question that again, Max. I promise."

This had lifted Max's spirits for a while.

One late night, however, Max woke up bathed in sweat, jolting up in bed yelling Chloe's name, only to realize that she was gone all over again. Rachel did all she could, holding her in her arms, embracing her like an angel. She started to understand what the original Rachel must have meant to Chloe when she was all alone. Max could never forgive herself for abandoning her, not if she had felt anything like this.

* * *

The day of Chloe's funeral came. Despite the financial troubles that were still affecting the Price family, they decided to give their daughter the burial she deserved. They even allowed Rachel to attend, much to her surprise. Even William's brother Aaron and his family managed to come, even though they were also facing money problems. The casket was nice and smooth and the Price's even arranged for music to be played. This was Chloe's wish as they stated. Neither Max nor Rachel recognized the music, which as it turned out was a song by a band called Nightwish with the title being "Turn loose the Mermaids". It was a beautiful song and it hit home for Max.

A blue butterfly circled around her and then landed on the casket. To Rachel, it seemed like she recognized it. It had a radiant glow to its wings. Then, it took off and flew far away.

Once the casket was lowered and covered up, Max had buried her face in Rachel's chest. In response, she gently stroked Max's hair as the ceremony came to an end and they bid goodbye to William and Joyce. Rachel wished she could have known Chloe better. In another life she did and they were supposedly more than just friends. That gave her comfort somehow. She thought about what that life could have been like, as they left the cemetery behind them.


	8. Inheritance

It had been 2 days since the funeral. All this time away from school gave Max way too much time to think and she still had another 3 days to herself. She felt guilty for Chloe's fate. She knew that it had only been a matter of time, but why did it have to be so soon? But then she realized that otherwise, this would have always been hanging over her, like a dark cloud that wouldn't go away. Life wasn't fair. Did she make a conscious decision when she decided to stay here? Was there even such a thing as a right decision at that time?

Rachel decided to give her some room but was never far away if she needed her. Instead, Rachel spent most of her time studying and memorizing her lines for the school theater. It was going to be the last performance on stage for her. She wanted to end it on a high note. Although, due to recent events, it was most certainly going to be delayed.

* * *

It was lunchtime and they both went downstairs to eat. Since no one else was home, Rachel volunteered to cook something for them. Max hadn't been eating much lately, suffering from a lack of appetite. Rachel took it upon herself to make something she couldn't possibly resist. She was sitting at the dinner table, waiting to see the results of Rachel's culinary endeavors.

"You still like Italian right?", Rachel asked.

"Who doesn't? What did you make?", Max responded.

Bringing Max her plate, Rachel dropped it off in front of her in a dramatic fashion.

"Voila! The best Spaghetti Bolognese you will ever eat!", she exclaimed.

The smell was intoxicating, this may just have been just the thing.

"If that tastes half as good as it smells and looks, I may just finish this time.", Max said in surprise.

"You used to love this. I made it for us before. One thing is still missing though."

Rachel went to the fridge and grabbed a round container. She commenced dousing her own plate with its contents.

"Want some too? There is no such as thing as too much Parmesan after all."

"Sure, no argument there. Who taught you to cook?"

"Rose did. But I have been teaching myself too. This one is a winner."

After sprinkling on some of the cheese, Max took a bite. It was great. Devouring their lunch, this was the first time Max able to finish a meal in days. They remained sitting at the table for a while longer.

"Max, tell me about Seattle."

"Didn't my previous me tell you anything?", she asked.

"Yes, but I want to hear it again. From you. You know I love to hear about other places.", Rachel insisted.

"Well, I think you would love it. It's a photographer's paradise. So many amazing places to take pictures of. I would love to go back and take some more shots that I missed out on."

"Like what?"

"There are the obvious ones like the Space Needle, but there's also Lake Union Park. A great spot if you love the water. Speaking of water, there's the Snoqualmie Falls just east of the city. Seattle itself is quite pretty at night if you are into nighttime images. Plus you can find some of the best ice cream in the country there."

"Sounds lovely."

"It was. Maybe one day I will return there. I would love for my parents to meet you too."

"Let me know if you need a companion then, I'm in."

"Actually, this is gonna sound weird but, what do my folks think of you?"

"Uh... actually you never told them about me."

Max found herself dumbfounded.

"I _didn't_? Why?"

"You said you were concerned about your dad's reaction in particular. I was never against them knowing myself. When you moved here, you told them it was only because of Blackwell and the fact that you used to live here once, I never came up."

Max had to process this for a moment.

"I want to change that. They should know."

"Aren't you afraid they won't approve of me?", Rachel asked with a hint of concern.

"No. And if they don't... well then it won't matter to me. I'm proud to be with you and it's my choice."

Rachel smiled.

"You really have grown up, Max. You aren't as afraid of people's judgment as you used to be."

"I will take that as a compliment, instead of thinking you are saying I'm getting old."

"Hey, I'm older than you remember? So it's not a joke I could make without it backfiring. Unless of course...", she crossed her arms, "Do you know my birthday?"

"To be honest, I remember reading it once on your student profile. Not sure on the exact date though."

"My profile? Are you telling me you snuck into the principal's office?"

"Yeah, I did. Chloe and I were looking for evidence there."

"That's crazy, you are braver than I gave you credit for. Well, my birthday is July 22nd, 1994. So that makes me about a year and 3 months older than you. Incidentally, what was my other me's GPA?", Rachel asked.

"4.0.", Max replied.

"I would expect nothing less of myself. Yours?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Oh but I _do_."

"2.8", Max said with slight embarrassment.

Rachel was visibly not impressed.

"Really, Max? I know you can do better than that. I'm pretty sure your current one is higher. After all, you didn't have me to help you. Yeah, that's it, I'm blaming my other me for this one. 2.8...that's what happens when you don't have me to kick you in the butt to do your homework. Ha!"

Suddenly, Max's phone rang and she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Max, its William. Listen, would it be possible for you to come by at some point? There is something here waiting for you. Chloe left you something and she asked me to personally hand it over to you and Rachel."

"Yes, of course, We'll be right there."

* * *

After explaining the situation to Rachel, they both left the house and went to meet William. What could this be about?

When they arrived, William was already waiting for them ready at the door.

"This is for you both.", he said, handing over a small cardboard box.

"What's in the box?", Max asked.

"I'm not allowed to tell, Chloe insisted that you find out for yourselves. There is a tape in there. It will explain everything."

Max held on the box. It wasn't terribly heavy, but it was clear that there was more than one item inside.

"Is there anything we can do for you guys?", Max asked him.

"We'll be alright, Max. Of course, you are always welcome here, that goes for both of you. It's nice to have you back in town. I must get back on the phone to deal with the health insurance people now. Probably best to just get it over with. I'd love to chat more, but the phone never stops ringing these days. Take care you two."

* * *

Then, they parted ways again and Max and Rachel went back home. Setting the box on the dining table, they both just stared at it for a moment.

"Why am I afraid of what I'm gonna find in there?", Max asked Rachel.

"Only one way to find out.", she replied.

Busting open the box carefully, Max saw the tape and two smaller boxes inside. She hadn't used, let alone seen one of these tapes in years.

"Hang on, I think we have a player for these somewhere.", Rachel said as she went looking.

Max was hit with a flashback. Many years ago, right before she left Arcadia Bay, she had left Chloe a tape with a farewell message. This brought back memories and not only good ones.

After Rachel returned with an old and dusty tape recorder, they managed to get it working. Chloe's voice could be heard on it.

"Max if you hear this, then my condition has caught up with me and I'm no longer around. Before I continue, I want Rachel to hear this too, so make sure she is with you for this. Max, do you remember how we used to goof around as pirates when we were kids? Those are some of my most treasured memories. Do you remember that time capsule that my dad buried in the yard for us to find? That was our final adventure before you left for Seattle. That was a great day, regardless of the fact that you were leaving soon. I figured I take inspiration, so I left a number of items for you. Inside this box are two smaller ones. They should have your name and Rachel's on them. Their contents are my legacy to you, one last pirate treasure to share. Well, you know I'm no good with the mushy shit, so I'm just going to say thank you for the amazing times we had. I don't want you to cry, rather remember the moments we had. Rachel? I know you are something special. I wish we knew each other better. Max told me you had a huge impact on me in another universe or whatever you want to call it. You are still cool. Now, dig into that loot, at least you guys won't have to dig for it right? I won't forget you. Now, don't you dare forget about me."

With that, the tape ended. The rest of it was empty.

Max was barely able to hold back her tears but mustered her strength to persevere. They took the two smaller boxes out, labeled "For Max" and "For Rachel" respectively. William must have helped Chloe prepare all of this. He really was a great dad to have.

Opening hers, Max found a familiar looking device in it. It was William's instant camera. But there was something else as well. She pulled out an object made of glass.

"Wowser... I had no idea she still had this.", Max said out of breath.

"Looks like the bottom of a bottle to me.", Rachel said.

"This was the "amulet" that William had used in our last treasure hunt.", Max explained. "It has secret directions hidden inside. And this...", Max held the camera in both of her hands, "This is the greatest thing she could have given me... again."

"Let's see what's in mine.", Rachel said.

Opening hers, she pulled out a necklace. It was a black cord with three bullets dangling from it and a hand-written note was with it. It read "from one badass to another, may it bring you luck".

"I know this one. The old Chloe had that same one!", Max said in excitement. "I was wondering if she still had it."

Rachel put it around her neck.

"I could get used to this, I kinda like it actually. How do I look?"

"You look great with that.", Max said.

Rachel searched her box again and also found another item.

It was a tube.

"Dark Blue hair dye?", Rachel said in confusion, looking at Max for an answer, eye-brow raised.

"Chloe and I used to mess around with stuff like that as kids. I knew her fondness for the color couldn't have changed.", Max answered.

"I don't think I can rock that color... although... hm...", Rachel seemed to think for a second and then gave Max a calculating glance.

"What?", Max asked.

"I know someone who I _bet_ would look amazing with this.", Rachel cracked a smile.

"Oh no, you aren't saying what I think you are?"

"You tell me. I bet you would look terrific with a bit of blue in your hair."

"I thought about trying that, but never dared to pull it off. I don't know about this."

"Well, then its time to stop thinking and start doing. This is happening, Max!"

"But it was meant for you!", Max protested.

"Yes, I was given this, but your friend never specified who I can use it on! And therefore I declare for your hair to be turned blue!"

Max ran out of arguments. Maybe Chloe had secretly planned it this way?

"You are enjoying this aren't you?", Max asked in resignation.

"Hella yes, I am.", she giggled.

Max had never seen her so giddy before.

"Ok, fine, I will give it a shot. But don't hate me if I can't stand it."

"This is going to be fun, you will see. Go work it in, I will wait.", Rachel said with anticipation.

* * *

Despite her reservations, Max went to the bathroom and went through with it. After it was all done, she beheld herself the mirror. She almost didn't recognize herself at first. Her natural brown color was gone and replaced with a dark ocean blue. The sensation felt extremely weird, but not necessarily in a bad way. Between her new clothes and the new color, she looked like a whole different person now. A strong contrast to the Max she was just a while ago who would only ever dress in the same style every single day. Of course, she knew Rachel was waiting to see the results for herself.

Rachel waited patiently in the living room, watching the news which was still full of reports on the storm. Apparently, the storm was declared an EF-6 tornado, the first of its kind. This may very well have been the strongest storm mankind had ever witnessed, prompting scientists to adjust the Fujita scale. No one had a clue as to its cause or its sudden disappearance. Rachel didn't really feel like knowing why for once, she was just glad it was gone. It had done enough damage.

At the corner of her eye, she then saw Max enter the living room. She looked up and took a good long look at Max's new appearance.

"Well, would you look at _that_!", she exclaimed, getting out of her chair.

"What do you think? Did I do this right?", Max asked.

"Are you kidding? Look awesome, Max! Man, if I had known this earlier, I would have asked you to try this so much sooner!"

"I take you like it then?"

Rachel came up to her, laying her arms around Max's shoulders.

"I love it. It looks hot on you. Will I have to restrain myself around you from now on?"

"Says who?", Max teased.

"Right answer."

Rachel gave her a kiss.

"Seriously though, we gotta take a picture of this. How about you break in that new camera of yours?"

* * *

Max picked up the old camera. It was virtually identical the one she had before. Thankfully, she had enough film to work with. That stuff was expensive. She pointed the camera to take a selfie of herself and Rachel and hit the trigger. One flash later, the camera spat out the new photo. Then she proceeded to shake it like she always did.

"Uh, Max why are you shaking the picture as it if bit your hand?"

"That's what you are supposed to do."

Rachel couldn't help but facepalm.

"You goofball, it's not the 90's anymore. You are supposed to let it lay flat on something for a bit, not shake it like that. I'm not even into retro stuff and I know that!", Rachel said followed by her laughter.

"Are you telling me I've been doing this wrong my whole life?"

"If by that you mean since about 2004, then yes."

"But Mr. Jefferson said..."

"Your precious Mr. Jefferson is a janitor. Goes to show what he knows about photography huh?"

Max felt somewhat embarrassed and didn't feel like answering. Could Mark Jefferson really have been less than he appeared to be? But how could that have been the case? His work as outstanding!

"This photo looks hella awesome, Max. I think I'm gonna find a special spot on my wall for this one.", Rachel said while examining the photograph. "Actually, I've got an idea and would like to hear your opinion on it."

"Another one? Do want me to get piercings next?"

"Eww, no, never!", Rachel uttered in disapproval. "No, I just remembered that your birthday was last month. Technically, we didn't get to celebrate it didn't we? Well, at least you didn't, not with me I mean. How about a do-over? It's gonna be a long eleven months otherwise."

"I'm not big on parties, what do you have in mind?"

"We do the same thing we did last time, it wasn't anything big actually, we didn't throw a party. We basically spent the day doing whatever we wanted, away from school, away from parents. We ate lunch at The Whales and then went shopping in town where I got you a gift. As for the evening, we spent it watching a movie of your choice and as for the rest... well, I think I will leave it to your imagination.", Rachel told her with a wink.

Max couldn't help but turn red.

"So, what do you say? Ready for a day of fun and adventure? I think you deserve that after we went through lately."

Rachel had a point. Being cooped up in this house for days on end did become tiresome and Max could have used some distraction. She nodded.

"Then it's a date?", Rachel asked.

"A date with Rachel Amber, I would have to be out of my mind to say no."

"Damn right you'd have to be."


	9. Echoes

Max found herself surrounded by darkness. Everything seemed like a blur. She could hear a faint voice, but it was too muffled for her to understand. She seemed to be moving through a strangely familiar place, but she couldn't make out anything around her. Her body moved like it was on autopilot and it felt like she was floating. She came across a patch of dirt and started digging. Someone was close to her, but ever out of reach and out of range. Then as she kept digging through the soil, she uncovered a dreadful sight. It scared her senseless.

* * *

"RACHEL!", she screamed.

Max shot up, awakened by her nightmare. She was shaking.

"I'm right here, Max! Are you ok? Did you have a bad dream?", Rachel asked.

She was in bed, right next to her, looking very concerned.

"It was dreadful. I thought you were... gone", Max uttered.

"Everything is ok. I'm not going anywhere. What did you see?"

"I'd rather not say, to be honest."

"Ok. I will let you sleep then, let me know if you need anything, ok?."

"Thanks."

Max tried to sleep. Hopefully, never having to see this image again.

The morning came and the rest of the night remained nightmare-free for Max.

This was the beginning of her special day with Rachel, a repeat of her birthday. Max was never big on birthdays. Although, at least now she had someone to celebrate it with. She went through Rachel's wardrobe after asking for permission, wanting to try out something else. She spotted a cool looking purple and grey shirt.

"I think I will wear this one today.", she said while holding it up.

"I haven't worn that one in ages. All yours if you want it!"

"Thanks, you are too generous. I gotta work on my wardrobe anyway, so this is a start."

"But that one doesn't count as your birthday gift, I still plan on getting you something else later.", Rachel said while putting on her new necklace. She found herself playing with the bullets a lot while wearing it.

"I know I got more than you from Chloe, but I gotta admit, I'm kinda jealous of that necklace you got.", Max admitted.

"Trust me, I will keep this one dear. It's a bold statement, but then again, I am feeling kinda bold today."

"Do you ever not? It's hard to imagine."

"Got me there Maxter."

"Maxter?"

"I haven't called you that in a while now that I think about it."

"I don't mind it, I just gotta get used to that one I guess. Did I have a nickname for you?"

Rachel turned red. Not a sight Max witnessed too often.

"You used to call me your angel."

Max was hit with flashbacks to Chloe. She used to refer to Rachel in the exact same way.

"Then again, I called you that too once, back when I mostly knew you as "Noir Angel" over the internet."

"You are my angel, Rachel. I mean it. I should really have said that before now."

"That means a lot to me. I know you are still adjusting to having me around. I know I can be a handful and I demand a lot.", Rachel stated while looking down at her feet.

Max turned away from the mirror and looked directly at Rachel.

"You also give a lot you know? Don't sell yourself short."

"I never would. But incidentally, what exactly do you mean?", Rachel asked.

"Look at me, Rachel. I have changed so much ever since I met you. Do you think my past self would do any of this?", Max said while pointing at her new clothes and blue hair. "You give me so much confidence to be myself and embrace something new and exciting, rather than hiding in my shell and stay what I used to be. When we walked into school that last time, I've never felt so proud of myself. I would have never done anything like that without you. Just a little while back, I was the oddball girl in class who would freak out if the teacher did as much as speak to her. You freed me from my proverbial chains and set me free."

"Wow."

"What?"

"It's just that no one ever said anything like that to me. I thought I was overbearing and made people do stuff they don't want to. I'm not sure what to say."

"Do we really need words anymore?", Max asked, before walking over to Rachel, giving her a hug. She held her close. She reciprocated it.

"I know I argued over the hair, but you know what? I like it. I'm glad you encouraged me to try it, in your own special way of course. I don't want you ever to stop doing whatever it is you are doing because it evidently is helping me."

"That's the least I can do, Max. Also, I will keep that in mind, so if I ambush you again with an idea, remember what you just said!", Rachel responded with a smile.

* * *

After sharing breakfast, they took Rachel's car. Due to the storm, most local shops remained closed for the time being, so they had to go elsewhere for their shopping trip. They decided to head north to Manzanita, a small town, for their excursion. The trip would take them little less than an hour. Max made sure to pack her new camera too. She wished Chloe could have been with them, as she kept taking in the beauty of the coastline.

"I don't even remember the last time I left Arcadia Bay. Feels like a lifetime ago now.", she said.

"It's nice to get out and see the world every once in a while. I missed this, just you and me and the world for the taking. One day we have to do a road trip somewhere far away, what do you think? What exotic place do you think would fit us best?", Rachel asked.

"I'd love to do a trip, but that will have to wait. I'm nowhere near done with school."

"I know, Max. But there is nothing wrong with planning ahead. And we do have spring break not too far away. If nothing else, I'd like to know where you would like to go these days."

"Well, I already mentioned Seattle, but that's not really much of a road trip from here. I was always fascinated by the Grand Canyon. I think I could burn through a month worth of film for that alone."

"Sounds majestic, I like it. Got anything else?"

"Well, it wouldn't be a road trip, but I would love to see Europe one day. Chloe's family went to Paris, which would be great. Or how about London? Or a tropical island somewhere? Ugh, there's way too many places to see in just one life."

"Nice to have a choice though, am I right?"

"For sure. How about a Caribbean cruise? That wouldn't completely break the bank and we wouldn't need to worry about traveling itself as much."

Rachel's face lit up.

"I think you are on to something my dear. Can you imagine us walking outside on the sun deck in the evening? Perfectly warm but not too hot, a nice sea breeze and the sound of splashing waves? I can just imagine laying down on sunbeds and watching the sunset with you."

Max found herself smiling big time hearing Rachel's describing that moment.

"And then, some dude with like a perfect surfer body shows up and tries to wow you with a drink. So I get to tell him "Hold the booze there you grommet, this one's with me!". Then, he awkwardly turns around and walks away.", Rachel said, followed by her giggling.

"Ha, as if.", Max said.

"You'd be surprised, Max."

"I find it more likely that he would make a move on you.", Max stated.

"Then I hope he likes to get this drinks splashed in his face. You mess with the lion, you get the claws. Meow!", she pretended to scratch the air like a cat, with her right hand forming a paw.

"You are full of it."

"Full of what?"

"Awesomeness."

"Nice save there, Max."

The more Max thought about this cruise trip, the more she felt herself wanting it. The thought of spending a whole week without having to worry about anything sounded like the best thing in the world right now.

"You know what, let's do this. When we are ready that is."

"I love the idea. One day we'll do that.", Rachel said.

* * *

Having arrived in Manzanita, they stopped at a restaurant for lunch first, before heading to the local stores. Coming across a promising looking store, Rachel suddenly stopped and turned to face Max.

"Ok, I'm gonna go into that store, but you gotta wait out here, no peeking. I know how nosey you can be.", she told Max with a glance.

Waiting on Rachel, Max wondered what she was looking for. What kind of surprise was it going to be this time?

Rachel returned, apparently happy with what she had found. Of course, she wouldn't tell what it was, just yet.

Max figured she would find out soon enough and they continued on. She couldn't help but notice that her new hair color attracted the attention of fellow shoppers. And odd but strangely good feeling. A few months ago, she would have wanted to sink into the floor at this point instead.

A small clothing store caught Max's attention. She still needed more clothes to replace all the overpriced junk in her own wardrobe. In the shop, she spotted the hoodie section and went straight in. She found a fitting one in grey color and decided to buy it. It wasn't exactly like her old ones, but close enough.

"I always used to wear one. I kinda missed it as of late.", she explained to Rachel.

"Simple and effective, there's nothing wrong with that. As long as you feel comfortable.", Rachel answered.

"I used to have a closet full of these, believe it or not."

"Dedication, I dig that. Then, again, my own closet is full of these.", Rachel said, pointing out her flannel.

Once they were done looking around and taking pictures, they went back to Rachel's car.

* * *

"Where do you wanna go now?", Rachel asked Max.

"You mentioned the junkyard, right? How about we go there and you show me around your secret hideout?"

"Sounds good to me, I meant to show you anyway."

"I am curious what you got me.", Max said.

Rachel stopped to think for a moment.

"Well, I guess there's no point in keeping this secret any longer."

"You are kinda scaring me."

Rachel produced something from her shopping bag but held it out of Max's sight.

"What is that?", Max asked with slight trepidation.

"Close your eyes, you are about to find out.", Rachel told her.

Max obeyed and kept her eyes shut. She could hear what sounded like plastic foil being torn off of something and then what sounded like a container being opened.

Then the air was filled with the sound of drums and electric guitars. She opened her eyes again. Rachel had gotten her a CD.

"How's that Maxter? If you still like Firewalk like I do, then this is even better!", Rachel exclaimed.

Max examined the jewel case of the disk. It was Metallica's Black Album. "Enter Sandman" was playing.

"Ok, that is the last thing I expected.", she said.

"We all need to respect the classics, Max. I figured you would understand that better than most people."

"Not my favorite type of music, but I don't mind it if are worried about that. Thanks."

"Glad you approve.", Rachel said.

The ride back to Arcadia Bay was accompanied by the shredding of guitars all the way there.

"You know, one day we ought to rock at a concert again like we used to.", Rachel said reminiscing.

"Well, you did say Firewalk was gonna play here again soon right?", Max asked.

"Yeah, about that. It turns out the old mill where they used to play was destroyed in the storm. Lightning hit it. It was burned to cinders by the time anyone caught wind of it."

"You didn't just say that."

"Say what?" Rachel asked in confusion.

"Caught wind of it? Really?"

"Oh my god, I didn't even realize I made a pun that time."

"Leave the puns to me."

"What? Do you believe in pun control?"

"Are you cereal?"

"Hella cereal."

"Ok I yield, you win the pun war this time. Still sucks about missing the show though.", Max said.

"It does. I will keep my ears open though and see if I can find out if they might be playing elsewhere."

Rachel proceeded to take them to the junkyard.

* * *

Getting out of the car, Max took the initiative this time and gestured Rachel to take her hand. Rachel didn't seem to expect that but then held on to her with a look of positive surprise on her face. Together, they roamed the familiar junkyard, that Max remembered. It was mostly the same, although some things were either gone or have been moved. For the most part, though, this was exactly the same place that Chloe once called her second home.

"Chloe used to call this place "American Rust" where I come from.", she said.

"I don't think I ever had a name for it. But that is a fitting one."

"Is the shack still there? I kinda wanna have a look in there."

"As a matter of fact, it is, it's my personal retreat.", Rachel explained.

Max felt she went back in time, entering the decrepit structure. It looked virtually unchanged. The decorations were in the same places. The dartboard, however, was different. Instead of actual darts, it had multiple throwing knives stuck in it.

"I don't remember seeing these before.", Max said, pointing at the knives.

"A girl has got be ready for anything. I don't trust myself with guns, so this is my alternative. Check this out!"

Rachel proceeded to take out all three of the knives and gestured for Max to give her some room. Then, she threw them one at a time at the dart board. The first two hit dead on the center. The third just barely missed its intended target.

"Gah, I'm out of practice.", Rachel complained.

"Out of practice? Dude, you throw those things like a Ninja Turtle or something. Just be careful with those."

"I always am."

Below the dart board on the ground, Max spotted something. She picked it up. It was an old and somewhat faded picture of Rachel with her dad. It must have been several years old. However, she couldn't help but notice that her dad's face was torn, with the tear running across his face. Did she use this for target practice once? She quickly put it back where she found it, as she didn't want to ruin Rachel's mood by bringing up past drama. She spotted the wall section where Chloe had originally marked her name on. It was blank now.

"Rachel do you have a marker?", Max asked.

"Actually, I do. Feeling like an artist are we?"

"Not quite, but you'll see."

Max took the marker and started writing.

 _MAX WAS HERE_

"Your turn now.", she said holding the marker in front of Rachel.

"Really?"

"Oh come on, it isn't complete otherwise!"

Rachel added herself to the wall, right below Max's writing.

 _RACHEL WAS HERE_

They sat down on some old garden chairs that Rachel had found.

"How much time did you spend here?", Max asked her.

"I lost track. When I discovered what my dad had done, I hid here most of the time. I must have cried enough tears to fill an ocean in here. If I had to guess, probably for almost a month, only coming home to eat and shower. It wasn't until I made that video for you that I finally found the courage to stay home again. I missed talking to you so much, I couldn't stay here any longer. I rarely go here now."

"I see. I want you to know that I don't blame you."

"For being suicidal and at wits end with my dad?"

"No. For being here instead of at home talking to me. We all need our own space sometimes. I should know, I've been there most of my life."

"I did feel guilty for that. But the longer I stayed here, the more I realized I needed you in my life. Do you see the train tracks out there? They go right by this thing. Every day, I would feel the ground shake when the train passed by. At one point, I had a serious falling out with my dad and... and...", Rachel choked up.

"It's ok, Rachel.", Max said, laying her arm around her. "You don't have to tell me."

Rachel tried to continue regardless.

"I... I walked out at the time I knew it was going to come by. I could hear it coming from a distance. I stood right in the middle of the tracks, waiting for it. It would take all the pain away in an instant. Seemed like a pretty damn good deal at the time you know? As it came into view, I had a revelation. You came into my mind and that's when I felt it. I suddenly realized that I didn't just want you as my friend. What I felt was love. So at the last second, I threw myself out of the train's way. I remember hitting the ground crying your name. I wished you were there so bad."

"Oh, Rachel..."

Rachel Amber, the most confident and invincible person Max had ever known sat across from her like a broken down mess. This admission couldn't have been easy for her.

"I never told you this story up until now. I was scared you'd think of me as a crazy person and abandon me."

"Not in a million years."

"About two years later you finally came here. You have no idea how painful of a wait that was."

"I'm not going anywhere anymore, that I promise you."

They left the shack again, Rachel doing her best to regain composure.

Wandering through the desolated junkyard, Max suddenly beheld a familiar sight, but couldn't tell why right away. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it?", Rachel asked.

I... I remember this spot for some reason."

Max stared at a patch of grass and dirt on the ground. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about it. Then out of the blue, Max felt a headache coming on and her vision blurred. Before she knew what happened, she fell unconscious.

"Max!", Rachel yelled, catching her fall. But she couldn't hear her anymore.

Max opened her eyes, only to return her nightmare. This time, however, she felt slightly more aware than before, however, everything remained blurry and deafened to a degree.

"Are you going to help me Maxine?!", someone yelled.

Just like before in her dream, she proceeded to dig through the dirt. Only to uncover the same dreadful image that haunted her in her dreams last night. Buried under the soil was a body.

"Chloe, stop! Look!", she heard herself say.

"Please... no..."

They dug further. The body had an identifying marker that left no room for doubt.

"Rachel?! Oh no, no, please not her!", the other voice uttered in agony.

Max felt herself falling back in shock and disgust and eventually Max awoke from her nightmare again.

"Max, talk to me please!"

Rachel was still trying to wake her. Eventually, she came around.

"Thank goodness, there you are! You scared the shit out of me! What happened?!"

Max jumped Rachel, throwing her arms around her.

"Oh my god... I thought you were dead!"

"I'm here, please tell me what happened!"

"I... I had another vision."

"A vision? Like the tornado one?"

"No, this was different."

"What did you see this time?"

Max really didn't want to tell her, but it was obvious that Rachel wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"I felt like it was right here, but it was different somehow. It was very dark and Chloe was with me."

"But Chloe is dead, Max."

"I know that. But I know it was her without a doubt. I remember getting on my knees at this very spot to dig. As I did, I uncovered... something horrible."

"What? What was it?"

"You. I... I found your dead body, buried right here in this spot."

Rachel went pale, her face frozen in shock.

"How... how did you know it was me?", Rachel asked in a shaky voice.

Max raised her hand slowly, touching Rachel's blue feathered earring.

"This doesn't make any sense. You couldn't have seen the future. Chloe is already gone and I'm right here!" Rachel stated.

In that moment, Max had a revelation.

"Rachel... what if...what if what I just saw was an echo from another time?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Think about it. Where I originally came from, Chloe and I were still looking for you. What if this is where you were the whole time? My god."

"If what you are saying is true then..."

Rachel tried to wrap her head around the implications of this discovery.

Max, however, needed to take action. Looking around, she spotted an old shovel and started digging. Mercifully, nothing was down there now.

"Max, do you know what this means?"

"I'm starting to."

"It means, that if you had left when you had the chance the day we met... I would be dead right now."

Max was speechless. Could this really have been a sign of what could have been? Perhaps to stay was the right choice after all.

"You saved my life without knowing it. First, you were there for me when I was about to off myself, then you told me about the storm and now... this. How on Earth can I ever repay you, Max Caulfield? You have protected me so many times. You really _are_ my guardian angel.", Rachel uttered out of breath.

The embraced with tears. They could feel their bond strengthening. It seemed their fates were now intertwined.

Then, Rachel just stared at the spot that Max had dug up. Suddenly, it seemed like she was arguing with thin air. She was furious.

"How dare you end up like that? Buried and forgotten in the dirt? Was Chloe not good enough for you? Instead, you betray her, fuck around with drug dealers and lie to everyone's faces? You disappoint me. You don't deserve to carry _my_ name!"

Max just stood there watching. Rachel really took the actions of her counterpart as a personal offense.

"I had to say this. I don't know if she could hear me or not, I don't care."

She picked an empty beer bottle and threw with full force into the hole where it shattered into pieces. Turning to Max, Rachel seemed regretful.

"I'm sorry, Max, I didn't mean to be such a downer today, not on your birthday. I can get pretty rowdy when I get angry."

"Just stay with me. That is all I ask."

"Ever so humble. I've always loved that about you. Come on, let's go home. I've had enough of this place for a good long while."

They went back to the Amber's house, the evening sun casting a red light on the junkyard as they left it behind.

* * *

At the house, they ate dinner with Rachel's parents. They shared with them what they've been doing, but didn't mention the junkyard incident. Max didn't know if she was ever going to be comfortable enough to tell anyone but Rachel about her powers. Rose's cooking skills were at the very least as sophisticated as Rachel's. It wouldn't have been entirely obvious to an outsider as to who the teacher or the student was.

After dinner, Rachel and Max went upstairs. After putting away all the things they brought from their shopping trip, Rachel made herself comfortable on the bed.

"So, are you still up for a movie tonight?", she asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I don' know your library though. We hadn't watched a movie since I stayed here."

"Fair point. Well, I consider myself somewhat well versed. Drop me a title and I will see if I have it."

Max thought about what movies she was in the mood for.

"Back to the Future?"

"Good one, meant to get it since pretty much forever, but somehow never got around to it."

"You don't have Back to the Future? Great Scott!"

"I know, this is heavy!", Rachel responded, picking up on Max's quote.

They both shared a laugh.

"Ok, how about The Terminator?"

"Don't have that either. Maybe you should just dig for yourself after all?"

Max went ahead and started browsing.

"Groundhog Day! I love this one."

"Deal. I really like it myself.", Rachel agreed.

After dimming the lights, they started watching. Max couldn't help herself seeing a resemblance between her crazy journey and what she saw on the screen. Although the thought of repeating the same day over and over again sounded rather terrifying. During some of the more romantic parts later in the film, she found herself inching ever closer to Rachel. They held each other close for the rest of the film. Max felt completely safe and warm right next to Rachel and she made sure to enjoy their time as much as possible.

"I forgot how romantic this flick is.", Max said after the movie ended.

"Yeah, most people seem to only remember the funny parts. Although I admit, they are great too. Could you imagine a groundhog for a pet?", Rachel asked.

"I have no idea how to take care of one. You?"

"Yeah, not really."

"Would you want a pet one day?", Rachel asked.

"I will get back to you on that."

* * *

They got ready for bed like they usually would. Max had already laid down and was waiting on Rachel. However, she was hesitant to come to bed and just stood there with her back to Max.

"Is something wrong?" Max asked.

"Max, there is something else that I meant to talk to you about. I'm finding it unusually difficult though."

What was wrong with her? Did Rachel really sound nervous? Max was confused. Rachel Amber was shaking with nervousness and didn't know what to say around her. This was unprecedented.

Rachel walked over to her desk and opened a drawer. She removed something from it, but Max couldn't tell what it was because it was dark in the room and she remained with her back to her. She could, however, tell that Rachel's hands were shaking.

"I have debated on how to say this for a long time, Max."

Her voice was sounded like she was quivering from anxiety, prompting Max to get up and out of bed, walking up to her.

"What is it?", she asked, mentally prepared for the worst.

"Max, I know you've only been here with me for two months and you've only known me for much less than that. I wanted you to know that this has been the most exciting time in my life. In the short time, we've been together, you saved my life more than once. You make me feel like I have a reason to still be here and to always be at my best. You always look out for me and you never left me behind, even when I got angry with you on that fateful day we met. You have shown me so much love and compassion that I don't think I could ever pay you back. However, what I can do... is this."

She turned around slowly, her hands covering a small object. She then kneeled down in front of Max, who could feel her heart pumping faster. Was this what she thought it was?!

"Maxine Caulfield, will you accept me as your loyal companion to travel to the corners of the world, no matter what happens, no matter where we will go and will you accept my eternal commitment to you as your loving wife?"

She revealed a ring inside the box she was holding.

Max's heart skipped a beat. It seemed like time had slowed down on its own and her mind felt aloft. Not knowing how to possibly think about this rationally, she followed her heart. She tore up and it took all of her strength to speak.

"Yes."

Rachel could no longer hold back her penned up emotions. It was like a dam broke, unleashing unfathomable amounts of water. She started to cry, but these were not tears of pain or suffering for once.

"I love you so much, Max."

"I love you too, Rachel."

They embraced so strongly, it felt almost crushing, but they didn't care. They dropped on to the bed where wild kissing ensued.

"I believe since it's your birthday, it would only be fair if I let you take charge this time.", Rachel said with anticipation.

Max responded by giving Rachel the longest kiss they have ever shared.

For Rachel, this was the happiest moment of her life.


	10. Ramifications

Max awoke early this morning. Thankfully, the nightmare that had haunted her before did not return. Coming to her senses, she thought about what had happened last night. Rachel actually asked her to marry her. Did she just imagine that? Looking around, she saw the case containing the ring sitting on the desk. That really did happen.

Not feeling like going back to sleep, she dressed and then went to take a closer look at the incredible gift she had received. She inspected the ring closely, which was beyond pretty. A deep-red garnet gem was embedded in it. This thing couldn't have been cheap. When did Rachel get this? And how on Earth did she afford it?

She looked over to Rachel, who had woken up but hadn't said a word yet, just looking at Max holding the ring.

"A gift fitting for a queen.", Rachel said.

Max felt weird hearing herself being referred to as such.

"Rachel, I'm still trying to fully process this. Do you have _any_ idea what we got ourselves into?"

"I do, Max. If I wasn't sure, you wouldn't be holding that ring right now. There is nothing in this whole wide universe that I want more."

Max didn't feel like stating the obvious but felt she had to.

"Rachel, as much as I want this too, there is one problem. They don't allow this sort of marriage in Oregon."

"That hasn't stopped other people before. Besides, I have a feeling that one day that will change. It's been changing in other states, it's only a matter of time."

"Are you willing to wait for that?", Max asked.

"I have waited years just to see you. That ring is a promise, that one day I will be yours and you will be mine. What matters to me is that you know how serious I am about this and that you are more than just the company I keep. When the day comes, I will make good on my promise. I swore that last night, and that hasn't changed since and it never will."

Max couldn't help but feel honored.

"Dare I quote: "You are young, the world is yours, blah blah blah." as Mr. Jefferson always said."

"You really like that teacher of yours don't you, Max?", Rachel said.

"Maybe. But he isn't my teacher anymore."

"He sounds very preachy."

There was still a nagging question on Max's mind.

"Why Rachel? Why did you drop this on me so soon?"

Upon hearing that, Rachel looked down, as if she was ashamed of something.

"Max, I did so because I was afraid that one day you would just disappear from my life."

"What? Why would you think that?", Max asked, caught off guard.

"Your first impression of me came from someone who wasn't me. I'm referring to the other Rachel. Before you met me, all you knew about me was that I seemed to trade loyalties at a whim with no regard for those close to me. You saw me sell out my partner for drugs and who knows what else. Then you get to find out that this got me killed in the process. Tell me, Max, disregarding everything that has happened since we met, would you really want someone like that at your side?"

"To be honest, no.", Max answered. It felt painful saying it, but it was the truth.

"Exactly my point. From the first moment we've met, I have felt the need to make it unquestionably clear what my true intentions are to you. No secrets, no trickery. What happened last night, may have been a rash decision. But it was one that I felt I needed to make. As a matter of fact, I'm sure you still tread on eggshells around me at times, aren't you? Well, I'm going to grant the right to ask me any question right now that you might have and I will promise to answer honestly, no matter how uncomfortable they might be. Don't consider my feelings, if it will hurt, then let it. I need to know that you aren't harboring any doubts about me, I mean it."

Max appreciated Rachel's openness. She did have some questions one would rather avoid asking. Might as well as well face facts and see where they really stood.

"Ok. This I have asked before. Do you really not know Frank Bowers?", Max asked her first question.

"I swear I don't. If I ever came across him, then I didn't know his name. I don't hang with drug dealers, my dad would kill me if I did. Besides, whenever I need relief from the world, I find that in you, not in a shady ass RV meth lab.", Rachel responded.

"How well do you know Nathan Prescott?", Max asked next.

"Nathan is a big deal at Blackwell. He didn't use to be a bad person. His father pushes him to the limit sometimes and I tried to be a good friend to him. But in the end, he ended up hanging less and less with me once you arrived on the scene. He is facing inner demons that even I can't help him with. I barely hear from him outside of school these days. Why are you asking about him?"

Max remembered the crazy drawing of Nathan that she and Chloe had found on the computer in the principal's office.

"Remember I told you broke into the principal's office? On the computer there, I found messed up artwork that Nathan made that read "Rachel In the Dark Room" over and over again. I strongly suspect that his obsession had something to do with your counterpart's disappearance."

"That thought sickens me. I guess I should be glad to have kept my distance then?", Rachel asked.

"Perhaps, yes."

"Anything else you wish to know?"

Max thought for a moment.

"Where did you get your powers from? I know you have something special about you. I've been avoiding this question, but I admit that I wish to know more about it. Whenever you got angry or cornered, you seemed to conjure up the winds."

"I have no idea how I'm doing that. All I know is that this only ever happens like you said when I'm under great stress or emotional turmoil. I have no control over when I want to use it, unlike you do with your rewind. It's like a dam breaking to overwhelming water pressure. It's weird stuff like that made me not question your story when you told me. Clearly, the world is a lot weirder than either of us thought possible. The first time I used my power, it happened after I had found out that my dad had lied to me. I felt overwhelmed at first and the living room was left in shambles as if a tornado went through it. When my parents saw the damage, they thought I had destroyed everything by hand, which wouldn't be atypical for me, so they didn't suspect anything strange about it. When I get angry, things tend to break around me, that's just how it is. I would never lay a hand on you again though. Sorry I slapped your hand that one time."

"I don't blame you for that and thank you for telling me this. I only have one more question.", Max said.

"Fire away."

"How long have you had this?", Max said, holding up the ring.

"Ever since you arrived here about two months ago. I didn't know that I would end up using it so soon. I saved up for it for years, always setting aside some of my allowances after I played my game of suicidal chicken with that train. I could have gone for something cheaper, but like I said, my true intentions needed to be unquestionable, especially considering the recent events."

"I see. In that case, I want you to know that is probably the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me."

Max put it on for now. It felt heavier than expected. This would take some getting used to.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Looking at the ring sparkle in the morning light, made Max remember the consequences of this agreement.

"Rachel, what do we do about your family? Will your parents give their blessing to this once they find out?"

"My parents love you almost as much as me. I would be hella surprised if they were to change their tune now. They let you live here rent free, so that's a hint. Besides, they know we've been more than friends. They aren't stupid you know. I wouldn't worry too much about them."

"Fair point. But what about my family? They don't even know you exist yet, much less that you are my fiancé!", Max said with grave concern.

"The way I see it, we have two options. You can go the direct route and drop the bomb on them now and hope for the best, or we keep this secret until one day when they get the wedding invitation out of nowhere or they find out by accident."

Max thought this over, both actions seemed risky, but there was no room for an alternative. What was the right thing to do? If she dropped this on them now, how would they react? But an invitation to a wedding they didn't know about didn't sound much better.

"Perhaps a quick and painless approach works best. Let's just tell them and face the music."

"I guess you were right the other day. You are braver than I remember you to be.", Rachel complemented her. "How you do you wanna do this?"

"Well, they should be home this morning. I can boot up the messenger on your laptop and log myself in. From there, it's just a matter of saying hello."

"Sounds so simple, yet terrifying doesn't it?", Rachel said.

"Don't remind me. Do you have a webcam?"

"Of course. How do you think we stayed in touch back in the day? Let me get it."

Rachel got up and dressed. Then she started going through her desk drawer again.

"There we go, it should still work.", she said. 'Uh, Max, when do you wanna do this?"

"I don't think I could eat breakfast knowing I'd be doing this next. Should we just get it over with?"

"Up and at em I guess?" Rachel responded. "Do I look presentable?"

"Are you kidding?", Max asked.

"Actually, no, not this time."

"You look great, as always. I'm more worried about their response to my hair. Ok, let me see if can get this working."

Max went ahead and logged into her messenger account. Her contact list was way different compared to before. She would need to address this at a later point though.

"My dad's name is Ryan and my mom is Vanessa, just FYI.", Max told Rachel. "I will go ahead and call them now, perhaps its best we start with just me talking to them, can you stay out of frame, maybe over there by the bed? I will signal you when your great moment arrives."

"Ok, I will follow your lead. You won't hear a peep from me."

Rachel sat down on the bed, anticipating her grand entrance. This could go very well or horribly wrong. She felt more nervous than before any theater performance she had done, but tried not to let that show.

She couldn't see the faces on the screen yet, but she could hear them.

"Hi, mom and dad!", Max said trying to sound cheerful and not at all nervous.

A male voice responded first.

"Hi Maxine, oh wow, is that really you?", Ryan said in surprise.

The other voice must have been Max's mom Vanessa.

"Oh, honey, what happened to your hair?"

Max went as red as a traffic light.

"I uh, was encouraged to participate in an experiment."

Rachel wanted to chuckle but restrained herself upon hearing this.

"It looks, interesting to say the least. As long as you like it, that's all that matters right? I like your new style though.", her dad said, pointing out Max's new wardrobe.

"Sometimes you don't know if something is comfortable until you try it, I guess.", Max responded.

They asked about the storm and all the other crazy stuff that happened in Arcadia Bay recently and Max told them her side of the story, making sure they knew she was fine. Then, during a moment of silence, there seemed to be the perfect opportunity to come clean. Max took a deep breath, trying to swallow her anxiety.

"Listen, guys, there is something you should know, or rather _someone_.", Max said.

"Did you make friends with Chloe again?", Vanessa asked.

Max felt a proverbial punch to her gut.

"No, mom... Chloe is... Chloe is no more.", Max said, choking up.

Silence hung over the room like dense fog. For what seemed like an eternity, nobody said a word.

Then Ryan spoke up.

"Sorry to hear that. We knew she wasn't doing well, but we didn't know it was this bad. We are so sorry for your loss honey.", he said with empathy.

The news must have hit them hard. Max tried her best not to break down and refocused her feelings on Rachel, which seemed to help.

"I will tell you all about that another time if that's ok with you guys."

"Of course. Is there someone else you met then? Did you make a friend at school?", he asked.

"You could say that. But it's a little more complicated than that I'm afraid. There is someone I met years ago that I never told you about, but I really should have.", Max said, her heart wanting to jump out of her chest. She could feel herself getting sweaty.

"Oh, did you find a boyfriend?", Vanessa inquired with great curiosity.

"I think its best if I just show you.", Max said.

She held the ring on her finger into view.

Her parent's faces looked they had turned to stone before they covered their mouths in surprise. She looked over at Rachel and nodded. This was it. It was do-or-die time.

On the screen, Max could see her parents exchanging looks of anticipation.

Rachel got up, pulled up another chair and sat down, she was now in full view. It felt like she just walked on a stage with thousands of people in the audience. Perhaps treating this like the theater was the best way for her to remain calm.

"This is my fiancé Rachel. Rachel, these are my parents.", Max introduced them, gesturing accordingly.

At first, there was no reaction. Everyone just stared for a moment. Rachel decided to break the ice. A wall of ice that felt several feet thick and could crush her if it fell on her.

"Nice to meet you.", she said.

"Oh... well this is a surprise.", Ryan said.

"I will second that.", Vanessa agreed.

Max couldn't tell if they were in shock or in awe.

"But, I gotta be honest, this isn't entirely unexpected.", Ryan stated, speaking slowly.

"You... you guys are cool with this right?", Max asked in a panic.

"Maxine, we always knew you weren't entirely like most girls, we have always wondered who you would end up being with. If anything, I'm more disappointed I probably won't have any grandkids.", Vanessa said.

"Yeah, not really a topic of relevance at the moment.", Max said.

Rachel decided to take the initiative and back up Max.

"I know I'm not what you expected. But I want you to know, that the wellbeing of your daughter goes above anything else in the world for me. I've known her for years, long before she ever moved back here. I hold her very dear, more than words could ever describe. I owe her a debt that cannot be repaid by any means or with any amount of money in the world. I therefore humbly ask for your permission and your blessing, to be her kindred soul in times of need. She is the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me and my love for her is genuine and honest."

Max was thoroughly impressed by the composure that Rachel displayed and her sweet words. Her parents were left speechless.

"Wow, uh...", Ryan was trying to find his words.

Max's parents looked at each other for a moment. Clearly, some kind of communication took place between them. The kind that didn't need verbal exchanging. Then, they faced the camera again.

"I have never heard anyone else say something that nice about my daughter in my life. Your name is Rachel you said?", Ryan asked.

"Yes."

"Then, Rachel, you have our blessing."

Rachel placed her hands on her face like her prayers were answered.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.", she felt herself tearing up.

Max chimed in.

"Yes, thanks pops. This must be difficult for you. Sorry to ambush you like this. We weren't entirely sure how you guys would react."

Vanessa spoke up.

"Maxine, you are an adult now and you can make your own decisions. I'm sure you guys are aware of the law though, right? I hate to bring this up, but its a concern of mine."

"We are aware mom. But..." she glanced at Rachel, "We don't care."

"In time, perhaps we can make this happen.", Ryan said. "As long as you are happy Maxine, that is all that matters to us, really. Rachel, we look forward to getting to know you."

"The feeling is mutual.", Rachel responded.

"I gotta get ready for work now. I don't wanna be a downer, but duty calls.", Ryan said.

"It was great to meet you guys.", Rachel said.

"Same.", Vanessa agreed.

"Talk to you soon, have a nice day.", Max said to her parents.

"We are happy for you guys. See you later Max, later Rachel!", Ryan said with a smile.

Then, the call ended. Max looked at Rachel.

"That went better than I thought. I do need a hug now though."

"Come here.", Rachel embraced her.

Rachel felt a great deal of relief, knowing that she had Max's parent's approval. One major hurdle was behind them. But they had to face many more from here on out. Next, they would have to face her own parents.

* * *

Rachel went downstairs ahead of Max and told her parents that they needed to talk. She didn't want them to spot the ring of Max's finger first. She clearly felt more comfortable dealing with her own parents, which was no big surprise.

They took the news well, all things considered. Rose was all smiles, but James had his concerns. When Max entered the room, Rose offered her a hug, which she accepted. James though asked for a private audience with Max. She felt anxious but figured that if Rachel could put on a brave face, then so could she.

With Rachel back upstairs, James and Max sat down in the living room.

James looked serious and in deep thought.

"Max, first off, I want you to know that I'm not against you being with my daughter. While I feel that this is awfully sudden, I know that I cannot dictate what Rachel does, nor can I disregard that you are an adult as well."

Max felt a bit of relief but was still concerned about where this conversation was headed.

"Rachel has gone through some rough times, as you know all too well yourself. Our past is... troubling as I'm sure she has told you?"

Max decided to answer honestly.

"She told me everything.", she responded.

"Well, in that case, you know that my relationship with her hasn't always been the best. But I need you to understand that her wellbeing is still very important to me. It is highly unlikely that this situation will ever occur again, but under absolutely no circumstances must she reconnect with her real mother. This is the one thing I ask of you. If you truly love her and want to be her partner, then you will not let her do so, should the chance ever present itself. Do you understand?"

"Mr. Amber..."

"You can call me James."

"Fine, James. Before I say anything, I just wish to know _why_ knowing her mom would be so bad for her."

"That is a long story. What I can tell you is that her mother has made grave mistakes in her life. Nothing was ever good enough for her. She spiraled down a vicious cycle of substance abuse that I failed to protect her from. It had destroyed the family that I tried to support. I took custody of Rachel at a very young age when I saw her as a threat to her life. I do not want Rachel to go down that same path. I'm sure you understand that notion?"

Max remembered the previous Rachel and her shady dealings with Frank. She was now dead and buried in another timeline. James had a point, even if Max didn't like it.

"I understand. I will do as you ask.", she said with a heavy heart.

"Thank you, Max, I knew you were a good person when Rachel first told us about you. With that out of the way, you know the law right? I'm afraid you will have to either wait with this or conduct the ceremony in another state. I'm sorry, but not even my status as DA would help you here."

"We will figure it out."

"I'm sure you will. Take good care of my daughter, she still means everything to me, even if she might not see it that way, for which I do not blame her. I will help you financially if necessary, that much I can offer."

"Thank you. I appreciate that. I know Rachel will too.", Max said.

"I'm glad we are in agreement."

"So am I.", Max said.

She went back upstairs and hoped that she would never have to face the situation that James described.


	11. Fallout

After Blackwell opened its doors again, Max and Rachel resumed their studies. It gave Max time to finally sort out her dorm room as well, which until this point, she had barely spent any time in. She was able to sell off all of her unwanted clothes to everyone interested. Courtney ended up buying more than anyone else. By the time Max had gotten rid of everything, she had made over 2,000 dollars. She couldn't remember ever owning this much money before. She also started cracking down on her grades, not willing to settle for the average record she had. Rachel was of great help in this regard.

After school, Rachel and Max agreed to get started on building their lives together. The first step they agreed, was to set up a joint bank account and to get Max's name on the title of her car. Considering the amount of cash Max now owned, it seemed like a good place to start.

* * *

They took their time going into town. In the time since the storm, the strange occurrences had ceased. No more dead animals, no more eclipses and most importantly, no more storms. For once, everything seemed to remain calm.

"It's nice to see the beaches like this again.", Max said, enjoying the view and the sea breeze. A flock of ravens circled nearby. It felt like they were watching them.

"I certainly don't miss the dead whales... or their smell.", Rachel agreed. "Doesn't this feel great?", she asked.

"You mean this serenity?"

"That too, but I was mostly referring to us getting started for real. I have waited so long for this. Are you excited?", Rachel asked.

"I am. Do you know that feeling when you just know that a new chapter of your life begins? That's what I'm feeling right now. I used to hate this feeling. The first time I remember having felt it was when I had to leave Chloe behind when I left for Seattle.", Max responded. The memory of that event still hurt.

"That must have sucked."

"You have no idea. Literally three days before we were supposed to move, William died."

"Jeez... what did you do?", Rachel asked carefully.

"There was nothing I could do, I was just 13. Chloe and I were having one last fun day goofing around when suddenly her mom Joyce came home with the news. We were forced to leave during the funeral, my dad's new employer wasn't exactly supportive about the situation and demanded we be there in time."

Rachel got angry when she heard this.

"Fuck those corporate suits and their obsession with their bottom line! Ugh."

"My dad tried to stay as long as we could. But in the end, he had to yield and drag me to the car."

"Assholes abound in this world. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"All I could do was to leave Chloe a tape with a message. I don't know if she ever heard it, but I hope so. Even if half the stuff I said on it never came true."

"I hope I won't get one of those tapes one day."

"No, you won't. I promise you."

"By the way, Max, I took the liberty of doing some research on that proposed cruise adventure of yours. I found a good one we can go on, but there is one minor problem, quite literally actually."

"What is it?", Max asked in confusion.

"In order to embark, at least one of us would need to be 21 years or older. They do make exceptions, but..."

"But what?"

"We would need to provide proof of our marriage. As in, an authentic certificate. Either that or we beg my parents to come along, but that's not what we had in mind did we?"

"Oh...yeah not really, no offense to them."

"Yeah, my reaction exactly. So we won't be able to do this for another year and a half when I turn 21. Shame really."

Max felt deep disappointment. She couldn't say she was surprised by this ruling, but for once she wished she was older than she really was. Unless...

"But what if... what if we...", Max stuttered.

Rachel stopped and turned to face Max.

"Yes, Max? What if we... what?"

"What if we do what your dad suggested?"

"What did he suggest? I wasn't there for that remember?"

"Right, sorry. He uh...he suggested that we could try getting married elsewhere. In another state that actually allows this."

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?", Rachel's eyes widened in surprise.

"I think I am."

"So you are saying we don't wait and do this... sooner?", Rachel asked, her voice sounding rather hopeful.

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"Wow. I uh... I did not expect this from you. You got me there.", she said trying to mask her surprise with a fake laughter. No amount of acting experience could mask her now though.

"Are you backing out on me?"

"No. On the contrary. I meant what I said. It's just that I didn't want to rush you. I thought you needed more time, so this was not anticipated on my part."

"I could tell you things about time that would make your head spin."

"You already did... but... you really mean this? You want us to hop over to another state and go through with it? Are you ready for this?" Rachel asked her.

"I do mean it, Rachel, I have no doubts about that anymore. I look back at everything that happened to us until now. First, you were the driving force that led me here. We faced death and disaster and emerged stronger because of it. Everything I do always leads me back to you. You accept me the way I am, crazy ass time powers and everything. I just know that destiny wants us together. If I could glimpse the future, then I know I would see you right beside me. You are all that I want."

Max stepped closer to Rachel, holding on to her arms. Rachel didn't move a muscle. Her eyes were wide.

"So let me ask you, are _you_ ready for this?"

Rachel's face could no longer hide her feelings. The sound of Max's unusually confident voice was met with tears of joy as she lept off the ground and threw her arms around Max, while the setting sun enveloped them in a warm, crimson glow. Not able to speak, but sobbing heavily. She never wanted to let go again. These were the words she was waiting to hear her whole life. Meanwhile, Max proceeded to gently stroke her hair. This was a perfect moment. Once she had let go again, she looked Max in the eyes.

"Yes, I am ready Max. You are the most incredible thing that ever happened to me."

She reached for Max's face with her hand and gave Max a subtle nod. She responded by leaning in, as they shared a long passionate kiss. To Max, the whole world felt on fire. She knew now, more than ever, who she wanted in life. She had found her here, in a different universe from her own. How could this not have been destiny?

"Ok, I gotta stop now or I won't be able to handle any more action tonight. You'd better be ready for it.", Rachel said somewhat out of breath her voice full of joy.

"You are crazy.", Max said with a laugh.

"Hella crazy. So anyway, what were we doing again?"

"The car title first and the bank next?"

"Oh right, sorry I'm on such an emotional high, I forgot for a second."

As they continued on, Rachel kept giving Max side glances, a firm smile marking her face.

* * *

They went and took care of the car title. Max felt proud of having earned Rachel's trust. Just about over a week ago, she called her a cruel imposter. She could remember her anger all too vividly. Her shouting still rang in Max's ears. Now it felt like a totally different world. They had come such a long way since then.

Entering the bank, they noticed they were the only customers this evening. Everything seemed to go smoothly at first.

But then, within the blink of an eye, their paradise had turned into hell.

Busting into the building came three men, all wearing masks to conceal their faces. Two of them were armed with handguns.

"NOBODY MOVE! HANDS UP!", the leader shouted.

It all happened so fast that Max couldn't react at all. Before she got very far, the lead robber had a large knife to her throat and held her in place, while the other had his gun pointed at the clerks and Rachel. The third had gone into the vault, attempting to get the money.

"If anyone moves as much as muscle, the blue one's gonna get it, you understand?! Don't mess with me!", Max's captor yelled. She thought about rewinding, giving her and Rachel time to escape, but she was afraid that if she raised her hand the man would go through with his threat of killing her. That knife looked like it should rip through her throat in a second. She was trapped.

Rachel stood there in shock with her hands up.

"Take this guy to the vault. GO!", the leader yelled at his henchman with the gun. He wanted to get the clerk to open the vault.

Rachel observed her situation quickly. With the two robbers gone, there was now only one criminal to deal with. But he had his knife on Max's throat. What could she do? She wasn't about let this monster threaten Max if she could do something about it.

Max was terrified and started to cry.

"SHUT UP!", the robber yelled, tightening his choking grip on Max.

"Don't you fucking touch her you son of a bitch!", Rachel yelled in fury taking a step towards them.

"You shut up too if you value your friend's life! If I were you I would stay right where you are!", the robber threatened.

"Rachel, don't do anything stupid!", Max uttered.

Rachel stopped moving. Her face painted in defiance.

"Wait a damn minute. Rachel? As in... Rachel Amber?"

"What's it to you, asshole?", Rachel sneered.

"Oh, this is good. I know exactly what I'm going to do with you.", he said with cruel anticipation, now pointing his knife towards her. He threw Max on the ground, knocking the air out of her. This was her chance!

Max, while still on the ground, raised her hand and attempted to rewind. But nothing happened. Her power failed her. It was hopeless, Rachel was on her own. She stood back up staggeringly. What could she possibly do to stop this guy?

"Your precious daddy has cost me valuable things you know? He took my business and my precious time when he threw me into that prison. I think its only fair if I take something valuable from him now. Your blood on this blade will do just fine."

He started making his way over to Rachel.

"MAX, GET DOWN!", Rachel screamed.

Max followed her command and dropped back down to the floor. She suddenly heard a lot groan. When she peeked up, she saw Rachel's assailant stuck in his tracks and drop to the ground, falling on his back, with a throwing knife protruding from his chest. It had hit him dead center.

Coming back from the vault was the second henchman. He spotted his boss on the ground and pulled his gun on Rachel.

"You will die for this bitch!", he yelled. His voice sounded familiar to Max, but she couldn't place it.

He pointed his gun right at her face. Max tried to make a mad dash towards him to stop him, but it was too late.

A gunshot rang loudly through the air as if a medieval cannon had been fired. Max covered her eyes.

Afraid to look, Max removed her hands slowly. She then spotted the henchman on the floor with a bullet hole in his head. Someone shot him dead.

She looked behind her and saw someone pointing a revolver right where the robber just stood seconds ago. In the meantime, the lead criminal had gotten back up and was now brandishing his knife about to stab Max.

"I told you, you don't mess with..."

Another gunshot rang and he also dropped to the floor, now motionless.

Max turned to her savior.

"David! Thank god you are here!"

Rachel interjected.

"This isn't over yet, there is another one in there!", she yelled while retrieving her knife, pointing at the vault entrance.

Carrying multiple bags of money, the third and final robber came out. David immediately pointed his gun at him.

"Drop it asshole. Don't be stupid like your comrades!", David yelled.

The robber instantly dropped his gun and the money bags. Holding up his hands, he surrendered. Outside the building, Max could hear police sirens approaching. Max ran over to Rachel. They held on to each other.

Policemen entered the building and David explained what happened. After speaking to the police and giving them their account of the incident, Rachel and Max were allowed to leave, although the police took Rachel's knife for the time being. They were still shaking. David came over to them after his release.

"You girls alright?", he asked.

"We are ok, thank you, David. I owe you for that one.", Max said.

"I'm not sure how you know my name young lady, but you are welcome. If there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to let me know."

He gave them his contact information.

"Thanks, but I think we just want to be home now."

"Understandable. The police still have questions for me, I gotta go with them now. Be safe out there you two.", David said.

"You as well.", Max responded.

* * *

Rachel and Max went home, both being very quiet for a while, just trying to process what they just witnessed. Eventually, Max decided to speak up.

"You are hella crazy indeed. What were you thinking antagonizing that criminal?!"

"Max, I'm sorry but I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. I was afraid he was going to kill you!", Rachel argued.

"Still. Don't do that again."

"I wouldn't have had to if he hadn't known my name. How the hell did he know who I was?"

"Beats me. I guess it was my fault. I said your name and tipped him off I guess?"

"Don't blame yourself, there is no way you could have known what he was going to do. At least, that makes two now."

"Two what?", Max asked.

"I only have to save your life two more times and we are even."

"No offense Rachel, but I hope you won't have to."

They got home safely.

* * *

Rachel's parents were in shock when they heard about the robbery and turned on the news while at dinner. There was already a report being broadcast on TV. They listened in.

"Arcadia Bay police has identified the three robbers as individuals that were previously known to the police. Two of them were declared dead at the scene. The third surrendered to the authorities. The apparent leader of the operation was 34-year-old Damon Merrick, who escaped from prison only a month ago. He was found with a knife wound to the chest as well as a gunshot wound to the head. The other dead suspect was 31-year-old Frank Bowers, who was also shot dead. The third suspect that had surrendered was identified as 38-year-old Rodney Sears, also known as "Thunder". Police are now increasing their efforts to find other known associates of Damon Merrick."

"Oh my god.", Max uttered.

"Max, can we go upstairs please?", Rachel asked.

She seemed upset again. As they left to go upstairs, James Amber had remained deep in thought upon hearing the news of Merrick's death.

* * *

Once upstairs, Rachel found herself pacing back and forth.

"Max, answer me this and please don't bullshit me."

"I won't, I already know what you are going to ask."

"THAT was Frank Bowers? That asshole that was about to shoot me?!", Rachel yelled.

"I'm afraid so. I knew that voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't tell in the heat of the moment and with his mask on. But yes, that was him I'm afraid."

"Fucking hell, Max! That was the guy I was with behind Chloe's back? Where you came from I mean? What the fuck?! No wonder the other Rachel got herself killed!", Rachel fumed.

"I dealt with him before, well not literally, but I ran into him. I almost shot him once."

"You WHAT?"

"He pulled a knife on Chloe because she owed him money and couldn't pay up. I had a gun that Chloe stole from David in my hand at the time."

"The hell were you doing with a gun?"

"Shooting bottles in the junkyard. Chloe's idea, she wanted to shoot a bunch of them without wasting any bullets and have me rewind if she missed. I was against it, but Chloe didn't take no for an answer."

"Your old reality sounds ever more terrifying, Max. But you didn't shoot him?"

"The gun was empty, but I did pull the trigger."

"Wow, that is nuts... although good to know I can rely on you if something crazy like this ever happens again."

"Rachel, don't jinx it. We had enough action for the moment don't you think?"

"You are damn right about that, Max. That cruise of yours sounds even more enticing now. What would I give to just kick back and relax in the tropical sunlight, far away from guns and the lunatics using them."

"Remember what we need to get done first."

"I could never forget.", Rachel said with a soft tone.

"I guess I will start doing my research on where we can go.", Max suggested while reaching for the laptop.

"Let me know if you need an assistant."

By mistake, Max knocked over a cup of water that was on Rachel's desk. It didn't spill on the laptop, but Max managed to get herself all wet.

"Nice one, Maxter. But who cares right? Just rewind yourself dry. I'm so jealous of that power by the way.", Rachel teased.

Max reached out, but just like earlier at the bank, nothing happened.

"It's not working! Why?", Max said in frustration.

"It's not me this time, I swear. When was the last time you used your power anyway?"

Max thought about it. It had been a while.

"The...the storm. I tried to stop it somehow. That was the last time."

"Hmm... may I present a theory?", Rachel asked.

"Of course."

"You said you first had these powers after your tornado vision? Correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, in that case, perhaps with the storm having occurred, you no longer have it."

"I hadn't considered that."

"It's unfortunate. But I love you no less if that's what you are worried about."

Max needed a moment to let that sink in. No more rewinding of time. Odds were, that also meant she could no longer travel through pictures. She was an ordinary human being again.

"Rachel, do you still have yours?"

"You don't want me to find out. I'm not feeling like getting angry right now, no offense. Unless you want me to go Hulk on you?"

"No, thank you, Ms. Banner."

"Ha. I see what you did there."

Rachel realized something at that moment.

"Uh, Max? What name do we settle on?"

"Name?"

"Our last name. We can only have one... unless you wanna hyphen one?", Rachel inquired.

Max hadn't even thought about that yet. But it is something they would have to agree on first. She said their names out loud in different combinations.

"So its either "Max Amber" or "Rachel Caulfield"?"

They both kind sounded weird to her. Especially once Max recalled Nathan calling her the former in a mocking manner once.

"Or we hyphen and make it "Rachel Amber-Caulfield" and "Max Amber-Caulfield"? Or "Caulfield-Amber"?"

"They all kinda sound funny now that you spell them out like that. I kinda like my last name, not saying yours is bad."

"Well, the tradition is usually that the husband passes on his name, but that is obviously not an option here."

"Nope, it's not."

Max had an idea.

"How about this? Since you proposed to me, you get to choose which name you want for yourself.", she suggested.

Rachel thought it over.

"What if I instead want to pick yours?"

"The result is the same, genius.", Max pointed out.

"True... but I kinda like the idea of you bearing my name. I could care less about what happens to mine."

"Then just "Amber" it is?"

"So it shall be... Rachel and Max Amber!"


	12. Destinations

This morning Max had awoken to the sound of a gunshot. Thankfully, it was just a nightmare. Still, the rude awakening left her on edge for a while. She thought about the name choice that she and Rachel agreed on, or rather, the one she let Rachel pick.

Maxine Amber.

She started liking the sound of that. Now it was the time to make plans. The bank remained closed for the day as the authorities were wrapping up their investigation of the site of the robbery. At the very least Max could do some research on where they could go to get married before they left for school. It was Friday, so at least this was the last school day to get through.

Rachel wasn't up yet. Max noticed that she usually woke earlier than her. She glanced over at her and saw her sleeping peacefully still. Her face seemed to be permanently etched into a smile. At least one of them had nice dreams.

Max went on the internet and browsed. The list of states that supported their cause wasn't as short as she imagined, but unfortunately, Oregon was not one of them at this time, as she already knew. As fate would have it, the neighboring state of Washington did, however. The irony didn't' escape Max. They could do this in Seattle. Going there would also present a chance for Rachel to meet her future in-laws. Max wondered if Rachel was nervous about that, considering she had to pull out all her acting tricks to not lose composure in front of Max's parents the day before. Max asked herself if she could have done this any better if she was in Rachel's shoes. She had serious doubts. Thankfully, Rachel's parents already knew her from before. That was something Max thanked her previous self for.

* * *

She would without a doubt need other documentation for their trip as well. But she didn't have the time at the moment to research all of this. Still, the thought of sailing the high seas with Rachel sounded magical. Max couldn't imagine a better honeymoon. Hopefully, Rachel agreed with that.

She gently woke her up by stroking her cheek. Almost on cue, Rachel opened her eyes. Even after all this time, Max could still feel herself getting lost staring into them.

"There you are, my blue angel.", Rachel said with a smile.

"I never left."

"Good. I would have hated that. Besides, cassette tapes are so 90's anyway."

"You will be delighted to hear where are going.", Max said.

"Oh? Where are you taking me to?"

"Seattle. Washington state supports our proposed marriage."

"That's great, Max. Good work."

"I figured we would need a place to stay though, it's not exactly a drive that I would want to do in one day. It would take us almost eight hours to get there. So I wanted to propose something."

"I thought I did that already.", Rachel teased.

Max chuckled.

"No, not that kind of proposal. I meant the idea of us staying with my parents for at least a day or two so we can get this done and get you to meet them at the same time. We would be killing two birds with one stone. Besides, I think it would just feel right if we did it this way. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. I admit I am somewhat intimidated about meeting your parents, but you were brave enough to face my dad in a one-on-one conversation to get his approval. I can't exactly look like the coward now, can I? I say we do this."

"Awesome, then we just need to agree on when we wanna do this."

"Well, we would need sizable time off school.", Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah, especially if you wanna hit the waves with me after. Where is that ship of yours leaving from anyway?"

"You are gonna love this. It leaves from Galveston, Texas."

"Texas?! That's at the other end of the U.S. Rachel!"

"So? Let's make it our road trip and our cruise all at once!"

Max ran the numbers on the required time for that. The calculations almost crashed the computer program that she was using to figure out the travel times.

"Wowser Rachel, that would take us 36 hours by car from Seattle! We would be taking three days just to get there and back. Add the cruise of seven days to that and we end up with... twelve days. That's not considering time for stops and sleeping by the way. So... this is easily a two-and-a-half week thing at the very least! We would need to wait for Summer Break for this. That's a hell of a honeymoon.", Max realized.

"Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime if you ask me. I'm willing to wait until then if you are. We could do Seattle sooner if you are still willing. We could get that done during Spring Break easily. By the time we get underway to our honeymoon, I will have graduated too."

"I admit, it would be a bit weird having to wait so long for the honeymoon, but I guess the wait will be worth it."

"Yes, it will be. We get to jet across the country and also get to enjoy a boat trip? That sounds hella awesome."

"Or...", Max was formulating an idea in her mind.

"Or... what?"

"We could fly to Texas. That ought to be faster."

"Something to consider, but I still like my road trip idea better."

"Rachel..."

"What? A girl can dream can't she?"

"Don't make me quote Mr. Jefferson again."

"Why?"

"We aren't even in our 20s yet. My point is, we can do a road trip literally any time we want to in the future. We don't have to do it all at once. Besides, I would imagine a trip across the country to be somewhat draining, considering we gotta hit Seattle first.", Max argued.

"You make a good point. Maybe a flight to Texas is better. Gives us something to look forward to in the future. Sorry, I got a bit carried away."

"That's ok, I know you can't wait to get out of here."

"Oh, whatever gave that away?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the three dozen travel posters you got plastered all over this room?", Max said with a sarcastic, yet friendly tone, while pointing at all the various posters, maps and brochures that one could spot no matter which direction one looked in Rachel's room.

"It's only two dozen and you damn well know it.", Rachel said to herself in a defiant whisper.

"What was that?"

"I said nothing!"

"You did, I heard you whisper something! What did you say?", Max pried.

"Hella nothing."

"Hella my ass."

Max leaned in and started tickling Rachel, trying to force the answer out of her. Rachel began laughing uncontrollably while flailing about like a fish out of water. She tried in vain to defend herself. Eventually, she waved the proverbial white flag.

"Ok! Ok!, I yield! I said it's only two dozen!"

"There was more to it than that."

"And... you know it?", Rachel said sheepishly.

"Uh-huh. I've got your number now Rachel!"

"But I already gave it to you."

"I should punch you for that."

"Domestic abuse! That started way sooner than I expected! Damn, you are hardcore Maxter!"

"You won't stop until you had the last word, won't you Rachel?"

"Winners make their own rules remember?"

"Oh yeah? Win this."

Max tickled her again.

"Ok, stop! You win Max, I surrender. Showeth mercy on me!", Rachel begged. This, in turn, caused Max to giggle.

"I've got you figured out Rachel Amber. Your biggest weakness is finally revealed. Your kryptonite is that you are _hella_ ticklish!", she laughed.

Rachel remained quiet for a moment. She actually admitted defeat.

"There, are you happy now? Let this be your first ever and only victory Maxter. I suggest you savor it while you can!"

"So this is what it feels like to be like you and win all the time? I kinda like it.", Max said with satisfaction.

Max noticed Rachel's eye twitching at that remark.

"Max I swear to god if you rub this in any more I will get you back so bad you will..."

Rachel's threat was quickly interrupted by Max forcibly kissing her and pinning her down on the bed. Then, before she could say something again, Max put her index finger on Rachel's lips.

"Hush. Losers don't talk. That's _my_ new winner's rule.", Max stated.

Rachel just stared at Max with her eyes wide. What on earth had happened the shy girl that she ran into just a little over a week ago? Was her dominance really being challenged here?

"Ok, where is Max and what have you done with her?"

"I told you, I never left."

This caused Rachel to smile.

"Wow, I'm proud of you. This is definitely not the Max I ran into at first. Seeing you stand up for yourself like that, that's kinda hot.", Rachel said.

"What can I say? I learned from the best. Come on, we don't wanna be late for school."

The whole time during breakfast and on the way to school, Rachel couldn't help but admire how much more confident Max had gotten around her. Instead of treating her like a stranger whose feelings needed to be handled with utmost care, she treated her like an equal and wasn't afraid to speak up for herself anymore. This had to be a good omen. Rachel was so used to everyone abiding by her every whim and being nervous around her, it was a welcome change to see someone just being themselves in her presence.

* * *

The day at school was fairly unremarkable for Max, but she did run into Mr. Jefferson during a break, who was busy repairing and painting stone tiles that were damaged during the storm. At first, Max wasn't sure what to say to him. In her mind, he had always been the celebrity teacher, one of the reasons why she came to this school in the first place. Seeing him do grunt work just seemed wrong to her. It also didn't help that he looked rather silly in his work getup, much like Max assumed he would.

"Uh, hi there Mr. Jefferson?", She greeted.

"Oh, hello there Max. Enjoying your break?", he asked.

"Yes. How are you doing?"

"Well, as you can see I'm busy fixing the damage left behind by that monster storm the other week. I have never seen anything like it. Keeps me busy at least if nothing else."

"I see. Mr. Jefferson, I was wondering about something. Were you ever into photography?"

"Funny you should ask. I once meant to make a break in that field, but it just wasn't meant to be I suppose. No one would take my artwork seriously. Also, I didn't really know what I was looking for you know? Most artists have the drive to get that perfect image that they have in mind. For some reason, I've yet to find that. So, until I may or may not do, I gotta work jobs like this. Just don't tell Wells that I said that."

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.", Max said.

"One of my favorite quotes from John Lennon, I see you are well versed. It's true though. You may plan your future down to the most minute detail, but let me tell you something Max, it never quite works out the way you think it will. But then again it is also important to have your goals and things to work towards. Whether that's career, family or something else is up to you."

"I bet you would be a terrific photographer."

"As much as I appreciate the flattery, the public obviously disagreed with you on that. Don't worry about me though, I will be fine. Is there something you dedicate yourself to?"

Max thought about what to say.

"There is now. I've met someone special and I think it is meant to be."

"I'm assuming you are referring to Rachel Amber? I've seen you two together a lot."

"Yeah, it's her.", Max said while slightly blushing.

"I see. Well, its nothing to be ashamed of Max, on the contrary. Rachel is a terrific individual. Blackwell is lucky to have her. Take good care of her and she will do the same for you."

"Do you know what drives her? What is her goal in your opinion?"

"She can be hard to read. But it is obvious that she wants to land it big after Blackwell. I once heard her talking about wanting to be a model. If I may say so, that shouldn't be too hard for her to accomplish. I have seen her acting on stage as well. I firmly believe that if she tried hard enough, she could take it all the way to Broadway one day. But, no matter which way she chooses to go, I know she would be good at it, but she will want someone to watch over her. Those fields of work can be very rough. I'm honestly not entirely convinced she could face that alone."

"Do you think I could make the difference?", Max asked him.

"I cannot pretend to see the future, Max. But, I do know that you have a gift. By that, I'm not just talking about taking selfies with a camera but also the ability to influence people in a positive way. I have seen you do that more than once, especially lately."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. This one student, Daniel DaCosta, he's been talking to me lately. He told me that he always had a hard time coming to school every morning because he was afraid that others might pick on him. Ever since you and Rachel gave him your attention, he's actually looking forward to coming to school now and people ask to be sketched by him."

"Wow. That is great to hear."

"So you see, sometimes it's the small gestures that make the biggest difference."

"Thanks, Mr. Jefferson, I appreciate you taking the time to talk."

"Anytime, Max. I don't get to converse much, so whenever you want to chat, I will be around. Now, if you excuse me, I gotta make sure to follow Well's number one rule when it comes to janitorial work."

"And what rule is that?"

" _Always_ apply a second coat of paint."

"Alright, I gotta get going anyway, I'll ill see you around Mr. Jefferson."

"See you later, Max."

* * *

Max continued her day like normal but kept thinking about what Jefferson said about her "gift". Could he have been right? She always assumed her powers to manipulate time were a gift, even if it was a strange one. Since she had lost her powers, she felt like a part of her was missing. Perhaps being there for people in need was her real talent. If Rachel really had such tall goals, then Max would do her best to support her in any way she could. She also remembered Kate Marsh. She saved that poor girl from death by suicide. Where was she now anyway? If she wasn't at Blackwell, then where was she instead? Max had to find out, just to put her mind at ease. She had already lost Chloe due to her fateful decision to save William. She really didn't like to think that she could be losing another friend, assuming they still were friends or even knew each other. If nothing else, she just wanted to know she was fine. First, however, she had to tell Rachel about this. Remembering the last time she had brought up something like this, she had to be very careful in her approach this time.

Rachel and Max left school as usual and went to the Amber's house together. Max wanted to wait until after dinner to bring up her concern, so she remained mostly quiet for the rest of the day.

Going upstairs for the night, Rachel went into their room first and Max followed her in. Immediately, Rachel sat down in her chair and faced Max with her arms crossed.

"You have barely spoken a word since we left school, Max. What is going on?"

She saw right through Max's attempt at keeping her thoughts hidden.

"Rachel, I meant to tell you right now actually."

"Is that so? Then I'm all ears. Though I'm not sure why you are suddenly keeping things from me. You know I can tell when people do that, don't you?"

"It's nothing bad, I swear. I won't make you do anything you don't agree with."

"I feel like we've been here before, haven't we?", Rachel observed.

"Yes, but I don't want to make you mad again, so I will be upfront about it this time."

"Very well, I'm listening."

"Do you remember me telling you about Kate Marsh when you played that game with me?"

"Two Truths and a Lie. Yes, I remember. You told me you saved her life."

"Exactly. You see, the thing is that she isn't at Blackwell anymore ever since I messed with history. I'm concerned about her, not knowing where she is or how she is doing."

Rachel took a moment to process this.

"So you want to find her?"

"Yes, I would like to. However... I won't do it if you have a problem with that."

"How close were you two anyway?"

"We were friends, at least that's what I always assumed. She was very alone at Blackwell and a constant target for bullies, especially after that damn video that was spread around. I was pretty much the only thing close to a friend that she had, not even her family could give her the comfort and support she needed."

"I see."

"So... what do you think?"

Rachel got up and started pacing. After a moment of deliberation, she delivered her answer.

"I'm fine with it."

"For real? You won't get mad when I find her and want to go see her?", Max asked carefully.

"No, Max. I won't. I will tell you exactly why. It would be a pretty ugly thing to deny you this. Your history with Kate has occurred before we met and with everything that has happened between us since then, I trust you to know where the line between friendship and love is. I admit it is hard for me to give trust, I was never good at it. But just maybe you can help me with that by giving me the opportunity to trust you with something I normally wouldn't trust anyone else with. If Kate is your friend, then I will not stand in your way. Loving someone also means giving them the freedom to allow them to do what matters to them. I do not wish for you to lose any more friends, not after what you went through with Chloe, who would still be alive if it weren't for me. I still feel guilty for that at times, you know. I wasn't lying when I told your parents that I owe you a debt that can't be repaid. I'm only here because you decided to tear the picture to shreds which meant you had to stay here with me. I will never forget that and I will be living with that fact until the day I die. I was afraid your silence earlier had something to do with our future, so please excuse the temper that I gave you just now, I will promise that I will try to work on that. I'm just relieved that this wasn't over something between you and me."

"I'm relieved myself. I just want to know she is alright. She may not even recognize me anymore."

"I hope she will, I really do. She would be missing out on a hell of a friend. As a matter of fact, if you permit it, I will accompany you in this and help you find her."

"You would do that?", Max asked.

"Yes, I would. The other Chloe never stopped looking for me and you helped her to find my other me. Assuming your vision was true, then you managed to do so successfully, even if I turned out to be long dead. I think its time I start earning my keep and return the favor."

Max tore up.

"Thank you, Rachel, that means to a lot to me."

"Aw, come here."

They embraced.

"Let's find your friend.", Rachel said with a smile.


	13. Convictions

The next day, Max and Rachel started their search for Kate Marsh. They decided to divide their resources. Rachel would go on the internet while Max would go through her contacts and online history, trying to find a trace of Kate. Going through the history of her counterpart left Max somewhat uncomfortable. She was now befriended with people she never heard of and those she would rather not know at all, like Nathan. Kate's name, however, remained hidden, and she couldn't find her anywhere. If they were still friends, then it was a friendship that had remained offline and never led to any online interaction.

Rachel searched for Kate's name but found very little on her. Apparently, she was a member of the local church group, which was no surprise. The info was several years old though and didn't lead to an address.

"You know how wrong this feels to cyberstalk someone like this?", she asked Max.

"This is an exception. It's not like we have a malefic intent or anything."

"Yeah, true. Still feels weird though. Reminds me of the days we tried finding each other everywhere we could."

"That's a thing, Rachel, you never told me how we met."

"It was in this MMO I used to play. I used to be hardcore into PVP and people would line up to challenge me all the time. But because I had nothing better to do in life at the time, I used to whoop their asses left and right. Then one day, you showed up and you refused to go down but you were lacking in damage output. As a result, your witch and my pyromancer couldn't kill each other, no matter how hard we tried."

"That does sound funny, but I don't remember being a competitive player.", Max said.

"The other Max sure as hell was. You were one of the few that I granted the privilege of being on my friend-list and it kind of went from there. Before we knew it, we would hang in voice chat for like six to seven hours every day."

"That's cute. I don't think I ever talked to anyone for that long online before. Is that when you sent me that video of yours?"

"Yeah, in 2010."

"How did I react to it back then?"

"Not the way you did a few days ago, that's for sure.", Rachel said in a flirty way.

"I don't regret a thing from that night, Rachel."

"Me neither, actually. But, anyway, you were kind of taken aback, not knowing how to handle my confession. I'm not sure what shocked you more, the fact that I tried to kill myself or the fact that I fell in love with you. You told me you needed 24 hours to think about it."

"Oh..."

"My reaction exactly, I could barely sleep that night. But the next day we reconvened and you said yes and told me that you felt the same way. I never wanted to able to hug someone through a monitor so badly. I had to wait over two years for that chance."

"Rachel, this is gonna sound super awkward but I gotta ask this."

"Awkward is my specialty. What is it?"

"Who... uh...who initiated the first kiss?"

Rachel turned around and faced Max.

"A good question. Who do you think did?"

"I would say...you did."

"I stand guilty as charged! I sure did. You were caught off guard so bad, you should have seen your face!"

"You didn't warn me?"

"Nope, it was supposed to be a surprise and it worked very well! I kissed you immediately when we first ran into each other. I believe you also said that you never kissed a girl before that. I had never seen you so speechless before."

"Wow, deja vu."

"Tell me about it. Is that still true by the way?"

"What is?", Max asked in confusion.

"When I jumped you on that day you arrived. Was that also your first kiss with a girl?"

Max suddenly felt apprehensive about telling the truth but decided to do so anyway. Rachel would want an honest answer.

"Not...exactly."

"Ooh now, this I gotta hear. Who beat me to the punch?", Rachel asked with anticipation.

Max's face turned as red as an apple, contrasting her blue hair.

"Chloe did."

Rachel laughed hysterically.

"Chloe? Really? You mean the punk one from your universe or whatever?"

"Yeah."

"You gotta tell me all about that."

"Chloe told me that I had changed ever since we were kids, that I wasn't as much of a coward anymore. She encouraged me to take chances in life and to prove her point, she dared me to kiss her."

"And you did."

"I did."

"Wowser, Max."

"Hey, get your own line!"

"You already took my "hella", so we are even."

"Chloe did that too. She used that word all the time."

"Guess she must have gotten that from my other me then.", Rachel said.

"That could be."

"Such a shame I will never get to meet her. She sounds pretty cool, even if somewhat reckless still."

"Sorry about that. I'm afraid things are stuck the way they are now."

"Well, let's not dwell on this and focus on finding Kate shall we?", Rachel suggested.

"Yes, agreed."

* * *

With no further course of action, they decided to ask Rachel's parents for any information they might have. James was downstairs and they asked for his advice.

"Kate Marsh you said?", he inquired.

"Yes, she is a friend of mine. Have you ever heard of her?", Max asked him.

"That name does not ring a bell. Have you tried the phone book?"

"The what?"

"Oh my god Max, follow me.", Rachel said, covering her face with her hand in embarrassment.

"Dad, you have never seen or heard of us all morning!", she yelled as they left.

Rachel pulled out an old and dusty book from a shelf and put it on the desk in her room.

"Have you never seen one of these?"

"Actually, no, I don't think so.", Max responded.

"Are you cereal right now?"

"Are you stealing more of my lines?"

"For not knowing what a phone book is? Yes, for that, I am."

Opening up the book, dust was being blown up in the air. This book clearly hadn't been touched in months, if not years.

"See? This shows you all the names of people and their addresses in the region.", Rachel stated.

"It's horribly outdated though. It's from 2008.", Max pointed out.

"Yeah, that could be problematic. If we find her in here, we can only hope she didn't move since then. Do you know her parent's names?"

"I don't know her mom's, but her father's name is Richard."

Rachel browsed the Arcadia Bay section of the phone book for the name.

"Found him!", Rachel exclaimed. "Do you wanna call them up or show up in person?"

"I think its best if we show up in person. These could be total strangers for all we know and I don't wanna harass them on the phone.", Max said.

"I agree, Max. Let's hit the road and scope this place out."

* * *

They got ready and left in the car to the address they had found. Max had no idea what to expect.

Arriving at their destination, Max saw the same house that Kate had lived in before. So far, so good. They approached the residence and then Max noticed something peculiar. The mailbox had a different name on it. It now read the name "Morrison".

"Not a good sign.", Max said.

"Maybe they know where the Marsh family moved to? We can ask them.", Rachel suggested.

Max went ahead and rang the doorbell. She felt anxious and could feel her heart pumping faster. As the door opened, she recognized the person opening it. It was Kate's father!

"Yes? Can I help you?", he asked.

"Hello Mr. Marsh, it's me, Max Caulfield, do you remember me?"

"My name is Morrison, young lady. I haven't gone by the name Marsh in years, not since I remarried anyway. I can't say I recognize you. Is there something you need?"

"I was looking for your daughter Kate. I haven't seen her in a while and would like to check on her.", she said.

The man responded with a heavy sigh.

"Good luck with that. She isn't home, as usual."

"Do you have any idea where we might be able to find her?"

"You can try the train station, she always hangs around there. Wish she wouldn't, but there is no controlling that girl these days. Sorry, but that's the best I got."

"Thank you, sir."

"You are welcome. Have a nice day and may God bless you both."

With that, the door went shut again.

Rachel looked at Max.

"That's not what I expected to hear."

"Same, I'm kinda worried. Let's go to the train station and see if she's around."

* * *

A short drive later they arrived at the train station. There were only a few people around, finding Kate should have been an easy task. Try as she might though, Max couldn't spot her anywhere.

"So this is it then? Has she turned into thin air?", Rachel uttered in frustration.

"No, Kate must be somewhere, she just has to be.", Max said while still looking around.

"The hell do you guys want with Kat?"

They turned around and beheld a girl adorned in punk clothing and purple hair. She wore leather boots, torn jeans and her arms were covered in tattoos.

"Megan?", Rachel exclaimed in surprise.

"Fancy meeting you here Rach, how are you doing?"

Max just took turns looking at them in utter confusion.

"Max, this is Megan Weaver, we used to go to Firewalk concerts together a few years ago.", Rachel explained.

"Fuck yeah we did. But with the mill gone to shit that's not happening anymore, it seems. Haven't seen you in forever Rach, you look as gorgeous as ever."

"It's been a while indeed.", Rachel stated.

Megan looked over at Max.

"Who's the arm candy?"

Rachel stepped up next to Max.

"I see you are slightly out of date my friend. This is Max. She is also way more than just arm candy if you are catching my drift.", Rachel said while pointing at Max's ring.

"Damn, congratulations Max, you are officially the envy of this entire town."

"Thanks, I guess?", she responded.

"So, what do you want with Kat?"

"Kat?", Max asked.

"Yeah, what _do_ you want with me?"

Walking up next to Megan was someone Max didn't recognize. After a moment of looking at her face, Max had a realization.

"Kate? Is that you?"

"I usually allow my parents to get away with calling me that, but sure, yes that's me. Who is asking?"

Her look had drastically changed. Her blonde hair was now all black and no longer neatly put up, instead, it was freely waving in the wind. Her rather conservative choice of clothing had been replaced by similar things to what her friend Megan was sporting. Her wrists had studs and tattoos of skulls and she was wearing a black leather jacket with spikes.

"It's me, Max Caulfield. Do you remember me at all?"

Kate looked at Max from top to bottom.

"Now I remember you, your appearance changed. You are one of those damn Vortex Club snobs. What is your kind doing so far away from school?", Kate sneered.

"I'm not in the Vortex Club anymore.", Max responded.

"Once a Vortex asshole, always a Vortex asshole."

Rachel decided to step in.

"She is speaking the truth, Kate, she isn't with those guys anymore."

"Says who? You may rule the school grounds like it's your own personal kingdom with entourage Rachel, but your word means zip to me out here."

"Say that again.", Rachel said in a threatening manner.

"I said you ain't shit out here!"

"Kat, calm the hell down!", Megan urged her.

"I won't. They might strut around like they own the fucking town like their Prescott benefactors, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna yield to them!"

Rachel was clenching her fists and tried her hardest to resist her urge to punch Kate's face all the way to the moon.

Realizing that things were escalating, Max decided she had enough.

"Everyone shut up!", she yelled, positioning herself between Rachel and Kate, arms extended to keep them at bay.

"Kate, I don't know what history you had with the Vortex Club and I'm sorry if they hurt you."

"Hurt me? You fuckers got me suspended!"

"What?"

"Yeah, did that escape your mind? You guys framed me for drug possession! The very same drugs that your precious Vortex buddy Nathan had placed in my dorm room. I can still remember his laughter when the cops came and arrested me. It was all just a big ole prank to you punks!"

"I... Kate, I don't know what to say."

"Yeah bet you don't, but it looks like your guard dog does.", Kate instigated, referring to Rachel.

"Don't you dare talk to us that way!", Rachel yelled with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, what are you gonna do about that, _bitch_?"

Rachel snapped and stormed forward past Max and knocked Kate on to the ground, now standing over her with her fist raised and ready to strike, her eyes full of fury.

Max begged them to stop.

"No, Rachel! Don't hurt her, please! This has gone far enough!"

Rachel could feel her fist shaking. Every instinct in her urging her to put Kate in her place. But then she lowered her fist and released Kate from under her.

"I see you are the obedient one now Rachel. I never thought I would see the day that you would take orders from someone.", Kate mocked her, getting back up.

"You don't know who I am Kate, we barely knew each other. I know you hate me for not interfering, but I attempted to help you in every way I could. I've tried to better myself since then.", Rachel stated.

"Oh have you? You seem as aggressive as ever to me."

Rachel had enough.

"Do you even know why we came out here? No, you don't, because you are too busy being angry about the past! This girl over here has literally been begging me to help her find you because she firmly believed you were her friend once. We went all over this town trying to find you. Instead of giving her a chance, you let past grievances dictate your actions. I had nothing to do with your suspension, on the contrary. I tried to keep Nathan from doing what he did but he refused to listen. I gave him hell when he and the others went through with it. I have barely spoken to the guy since. You owe Max an apology, right here, right now. She has been more than patient listening to this travesty."

Kate remained unimpressed.

"Whatever. I don't believe a word you are saying. All I hear is lies and make belief. Why would I ever want to be friends with the likes of her?"

"I saved your damn life once! Does that mean nothing to you?", Max yelled in desperation.

"No, Max Caulfield. You let your friends ruin it. That, I will never forgive. Go to Hell, both of you! Megan, we are leaving!"

Kate stormed off, disappearing behind the building.

Megan just stood there shaking her head.

"I'm sorry we had to meet under such circumstances.", she said.

"I think that makes all of us.", Max replied.

* * *

Then Megan left too, leaving Rachel and Max standing around by themselves. The noise they made had scared everyone else away.

"How could this have gone so wrong?!", Max cried.

"I'm sorry, Max. If I had known who we were dealing with, I would have warned you."

Max wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Rachel.

"What do you mean?"

"That was Kate Morrison, that's the name I knew her under. If I had known this was her you were talking about, then I would have strongly suggested you dropped this whole endeavor."

"Is it true what she said? Did the Vortex Club frame her?"

"Yes, they did. I swear I tried what I could to stop it, but Nathan wasn't listening. Rumors were circulating for a while that someone brought drugs on campus and he wanted a scapegoat and thought it would be funny to frame the most religious and conservative person at Blackwell. He thought the authorities wouldn't believe it anyway, but they did and she was promptly suspended. I had no hard evidence to help her, so my hands were tied."

"I can't believe she changed so much, this isn't at all how I remember her. The Kate I know is the kindest and most empathetic person I have ever seen. Present company excluded of course."

"I believe you, Max. Once she was like that, but that day changed everything it seems."

"I never heard her curse like that either."

"That did catch me off guard as well. I'm sorry that this is how it went. But, you tried. Don't beat yourself up over it. This is the Vortex' fault, not yours.

"It was mine, I put her in this position and didn't do anything about it back then."

"You couldn't have possibly known that this was going to happen to her. And you didn't do anything because that was a different you. Do you blame _me_ for the fact that the other Rachel abandoned Chloe and got herself killed?"

Max shook her head in disagreement.

"The same applies here.", Rachel stated.

"Rachel..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for holding back and not hitting her. I know that must have been hard. She may have been hostile, but I cannot stomach the idea of anyone hurting her, regardless of what just happened."

Rachel went and stroke Max's cheek.

"I'm glad you stopped me. Why do you think I love you so much? You put up with all my bullshit and yet, here you are, wearing my bracelet and the ring. Kate has no idea who she just walked away from."

Max looked down at both the bracelet and the ring she was wearing. She was glad that she could always find comfort in knowing that no matter what obstacle life would throw at her, she would not have to face it alone anymore.


	14. Preparations

The confrontation with Kate haunted Max all the time. She still blamed herself for Kate's destiny. Rachel did make a point about her past actions having not exactly been her own, but those of a different Max Caulfield. How the hell could she still have been a member of the Vortex Club after having witnessed what they had done? Suddenly, Max could sympathize with Rachel and her dislike for her own counterpart that had made questionable choices as well. Much like her, Max hardly recognized herself.

Max and Rachel spent the next few weeks trying to prepare for their trip to Seattle. Max was anxious about it, yet was also forward to it. Her parents didn't seem very different, which made sense considering how far away they lived from Arcadia Bay. Still, Max hoped her worries were unfounded. And of course, then there was the very reason they were leaving in the first place. Rachel and she would become joined in marriage, at least in legal terms. As much she hated it, they would have to conduct some kind of elaborate ceremony later and get their families together. It still, however, meant a lot to her and she eagerly awaited the fateful day.

Rachel for her part could not talk about anything else anymore, with the exception of her theater class. During her final performance of The Winter's Tale at Blackwell, she wowed the audience once again. She had played her parts many times, but this time, she conducted herself so magnificently on stage that she made it into the local newspaper without even trying. Mr. Keaton, the drama teacher, personally congratulated her and told her that Blackwell would miss her stage presence once she would graduate. He seemed genuinely upset to lose his star student.

* * *

Spring Break and with that, the day of the trip to Seattle arrived. Max and Rachel had now been together for about 5 months. Despite that, Max always felt relief waking up in the morning to see Rachel right beside her. They carefully went over what they needed to bring. First, they had to obtain a license to get married, which entailed a waiting period of three days. This would give them plenty of time to spend with Max's parents before the big day. After that, all they would need to do is to find an authorized judge to have their marriage solemnized. They double and triple-checked their documents and made sure that nothing important was left behind.

Bidding farewell to the Ambers for the time being after sharing one last lunch together, Max and Rachel got into their car after having loaded their bags. Having sat down, Max felt like her stomach was full of butterflies. Rachel decided to drive first, but before that, she took hold of Max's hand and looked her in the eyes.

"You ready for this?", she asked.

"Yes. Let's do this."

They took off. The trip would lead them east to Portland, from where they would head straight north all the way to Bainbridge Island, where Max's parents lived. The island was connected to Seattle via ferry.

* * *

Leaving Arcadia Bay behind felt strange to Max. The last time she headed north, it was one of the worst days of her life. She still remembered how she debated how and when to tell Chloe that she was leaving. However, she underestimated her friend, as Chloe had already been aware, but didn't say anything as to not ruin their last day as kids. Now, she was leaving once again, but with the most important person in her life at her side. It felt so much better, unlike the last time, Max was actually looking forward to seeing Seattle again.

"I don't think I have ever driven this far before.", Rachel said.

"That's funny, you were the one who wanted to drive across the entire country to Texas remember?", Max pointed out.

"True, but just because it would have been a challenge, doesn't mean I wouldn't have done it. Though, you made a good point about flying instead. Once this is done, I will get us the tickets, both for the flights and the cruise."

"I wish we would already be done with all of this."

"What do you mean, Max?"

"I want for us both to set foot on that ship and just escape for a little while. Not having to worry about leaving our fate in the hand of a stranger."

"I know, Max. But we have to do this first. We will get there, I promise."

"Should be a piece of cake considering what we have been through."

"Hear hear."

The drive went mostly smoothly, although they encountered increased traffic through Portland. Max had been here a few times before. She remembered wanting to go here with Chloe. She still missed her dearly. They switched drivers after getting through the city.

After a drive of almost five hours, they finally arrived at their destination. It felt so much longer than that to them. They weren't used to traveling long distances anymore.

* * *

Max decided to greet her parents first. Similarly to before, she told Rachel to stay behind and wait for her signal. Rachel didn't see the need but didn't complain. Deep down, she enjoyed making an entrance any chance she could.

Max rang the doorbell and waited. It had been a while that she had seen her parents in person. Someone answered the door.

"Maxine! It's so good to see you again!"

Her dad Ryan gave her a big hug.

"Hey pops, its good to see you too."

Her dad turned to call for his wife inside the house.

"Vanessa, honey, they are here!"

Max's mom came to the door and embraced her daughter. Max wanted to cry at this point but resisted the urge.

"So, where is our guest of honor?", Vanessa asked.

"Rachel! It's time for your grand entrance!", Max called out.

Rachel took a deep breath and came out from behind their car that she was hiding behind. She had put on the best clothes she had in the morning, in anticipation of this moment. She wanted to make sure to make a good first impression. For once, she wasn't holding back on the makeup either but made sure not to overdo it.

"Here goes nothing.", she said to herself.

The first thing she noticed as how tall Max's dad Ryan was. He towered over everyone else. His rugged appearance made him look like the stereotypical lumberjack. She walked up next to Max while waving in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you.", she said in an attempt to ease the tension. She reached out with her hand to Ryan first.

"We are glad to finally meet you too, Rachel.", he responded, shaking her hand. His grip was fairly firm, but not crushing like she expected.

Next, she shook Vanessa's hand.

"How are you doing, Rachel?", she asked her.

"I'm glad to be here. It was a long trip, but I know it will be worth it.", Rachel said while glancing at Max. Max smiled at that remark.

"You guys must be hungry, you got here just in time for dinner to be prepared. My wife Vanessa is a hell of a cook, so have you got any requests?", Ryan asked.

Max answered first.

"I'm not too picky, but I got a terrible craving for chocolate milk."

"I think I will second that.", Rachel agreed.

Ryan chuckled.

"Well, in that case, you can get all the chocolate you like, we went shopping this morning to make sure you guys will have all you need."

"Thanks pops.", Max said with appreciation.

After everyone went inside Rachel volunteered to bring their bags to their room so that Max could take a moment to get reacquainted with her old home. It hadn't changed a whole lot, and still very much looked like she had left it behind. Ryan saw Max checking out the ambiance.

"Feels like yesterday we sent you to Blackwell, doesn't it?"

"I don't know pops, I feel like I've been there forever. It's good to be here though."

"Oh, we missed you dearly honey. I'm sorry about Chloe. It would have been great to see her too. I really wish we could have been there for you when that happened, but I got caught up with work."

"I understand. Sometimes, life doesn't give you a choice and you have to work with what you have. I want you to know that I don't hold that against you."

Max hugged her dad.

"That sounds like an awful mature thing to hear from you. Look at you, all grown up like that. And to top that off, you are getting married too! This is all happening so fast."

"I know, but trust me when I say this, it is what I want. What we want."

"I don't know Rachel as well as you do obviously, but I can tell she more than likes you. I see the way you look at each other and it's all too telling. That ring looks stunning by the way. What is the gem?"

Max blushed ever so slightly.

"It's a garnet. And yeah, Rachel is one of a kind. You guys will love her.", she said.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know her."

He then leaned in to whisper in Max's ear.

"Besides, she is very pretty too, but don't tell your mom I said that!"

Max giggled.

"I won't tell her."

"Are you guys talking about me?"

Rachel was back from putting up the bags.

"Oh, hey Rachel you are back already?", Max said trying her hardest to hide her embarrassment. It wasn't very successful.

"Yup, I put up all the stuff we brought up to the room. I must say this is a lovely home, Mr. Caulfield."

"Please, Rachel. You are engaged to my only daughter, I insist you call me Ryan."

"My apologies. I didn't want to presume."

"It's all good. You will find we are fairly laid back folks, just like our little Max."

"Little? Pops, I'm 18!", Max protested.

"And I'm your dad. You will always be my little one.", he said with a smile with his hands on her shoulders.

Rachel just observed the interaction between Ryan and Max. A part of her felt jealous that she didn't have this sort of bond with her own father anymore. He had done something that she could never fully forgive. Whoever said that time healed all wounds clearly hadn't been as emotionally scarred as she was.

* * *

They went to their guest room, which as it turned out, was Max's old room while she still had lived here a little over half a year ago. Much like her dorm room beforehand, she hardly recognized the place. More of those fashion posters and magazines and a jewelry rack that could probably pay for all of their expenses on this trip.

Rachel walked in and took a look around.

"Yup, this is what I would have expected from you before, but based on your facial expression you aren't too happy with what you are seeing.", she stated.

"You can say that again. This sucks."

"But hey, easy money am I right?"

"I guess, but I don't feel like dealing with that right now. Although I suppose it's something worth remembering in case we ever need quick cash. Of course, if you see anything you like, it's all yours."

"It's funny that your tastes differ so much."

"You mean mine and my previous self?"

"Yeah. You used to tell me that one day I should be on one of those covers.", Rachel said while pointing at the stacks of magazines.

Max thought about what to say to that.

"That would be one issue I would keep."

"Who knows? Maybe one day you will have to face that moment."

"Maybe, but until then I gotta get rid of all these though!"

"No argument there, most of these are hella old anyway. I never bothered reading these, by the time you get them, a new trend emerged somewhere else. I got my own style anyway."

"Rachel, you _are_ your own style."

Rachel gave Max one of her trademarked "what is that supposed to mean?" looks.

"I meant that in the nicest way possible of course. You may have put me in your clothes, but that doesn't' mean that I can compete with you."

"Max, as much I love your flattery, you really need to stop putting yourself down all the time. I mean it."

"Do you wanna know what my dad told me?"

"I don't know, is it confidential?"

"Technically no, he only told me not to tell mom."

"Then you can."

"He barely knows you but already goes on about how pretty you look."

Rachel had to subdue a giggle.

"Well, I think I will simply take that as a compliment then. But I plan on proving that I can do more than just look good."

"That's not my point though.", Max pointed out.

"Max, am I understanding you correctly here? Are you... jealous of me?"

"I admit, sometimes I am. You always take everyone's breath away just by being around them, myself included. I can't help but envy that. Remember when we first met? I was so blown away I could barely say your name. And whenever we go anywhere, all eyes are on you. Even that old friend of yours Megan called me your arm candy. Do you remember that from a few months ago? It's obvious who really draws everyone's attention between the two of us."

Rachel had listened to Max quietly and let all of this sink in. She sat down on the bed and formulated her response.

"Max, I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I thought you would appreciate me making an effort to impress."

"I do Rachel, I really want my folks to like you and deep down I'm sure they will, but still, I am jealous I won't ever be as beautiful as you are."

"Max..."

A tear ran down Rachel's face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you with this.", Max said apologetically.

"That's not it, it's the opposite as a matter of fact."

"What do you mean?"

"Max, you never called me that before."

More tears started flowing, Rachel couldn't contain herself.

"This is the first time you called me beautiful.", she cried in between sobs.

Max started to quickly search her memories and as it turned out, Rachel was right. She had never used that word before. She felt incredibly stupid. She remembered exchanging so many pleasantries with Rachel, but never once did she recall saying this. Rachel however, had called her so before. Now Max just felt guilty.

"You... did you assume I didn't think so?", she asked carefully.

"Max, I cannot read minds, as much I would love to. So, no. I didn't want to assume anything. Do you really mean that?"

"I do, Rachel. I really should have said this before, I realize that now. But I didn't want to come across as someone who just judges you for your looks. I care more about what's in here.", Max said while pointing at her heart. "But, if you wish to know and it matters to you, then yes, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I thought that the fact that I can never take my eyes off you was a hint."

Rachel regained her composure upon hearing Max's reassurance.

"I know it's silly, but that does matter to me. When you get judged all your life for it, then you start caring about it. It feels good to know you think so."

"I don't know what that feels like, but I can sympathize with what it's like to be judged."

"Do people judge you, Max?"

"They certainly used to a lot more before you gave me a makeover. I was only ever known as the scrawny dork girl that always wore the same boring clothes with a weird camera dating from the last millennium. If people didn't make fun of that, they made fun of just about anything else about me, even my freckles, ugh."

"I'm glad I helped you then, your new look suits you, you know?", Rachel complemented her.

"It's grown on me. But I will never throw away my hoodie."

"Nobody says you have to. I don't mind them by the way. As a matter of fact, I kinda like them on you."

"My hoodies?"

"No, silly, I mean your freckles.", Rachel said, now with a smile.

"Oh, please..."

"No, I mean it, they give you character."

"Ouch, that's a second-degree burn right there."

"Why?"

"That sounds like you are saying they don't suck, but they don't look good either."

"I swear to dog, Max, I meant that in a good way."

"You are stealing more of my lines? Hath thee no respect?"

"What can I say, I useth what I like."

"Oh, you are _so_ dead."

"Oh yeah? Bring it on Maxter!"

Max went right up to Rachel who had remained on the bed and attempted to tickle her again, as she knew that this was still her greatest weakness. Before she could though, Rachel had grabbed hold of a pillow and held it in between them like a shield. Rachel used this opening to tickle Max instead, who as it turned out, was just as ticklish as she was. Before they knew it, a struggle began with both sides trying to tickle each other to death.

With all the yelling and laughing, they didn't notice that Ryan had come up to the door, that they had left wide open. He seemed rather embarrassed having walked into the situation. With the bed a mess of misplaced pillows, the blanket on the floor and the both them still on top of each other, they just stared at him like deer in the headlights.

"Uh... dinner is ready.", Ryan said rather awkwardly, before hurrying away again.

After a moment Max and Rachel just looked at each other, then they laughed hard.

"Did you see his face? I don't think I have ever seen him so embarrassed before!", Max exclaimed.

"That was priceless. You should have taken a picture of _that_!"

"Oh goodness, no! He would kill me for that!"

* * *

They went to dinner and checked out the meal that Max's parents had prepared for them. Vanessa had made a great looking plate of baked salmon filets, a local specialty. They also noticed two generously large glasses of chocolate milk at their seats. They started digging in.

"Have they got fish as good as this in Arcadia Bay by now?", Ryan asked.

Max gave Rachel a look. Clearly, she wanted her to get a chance to speak.

"Not anymore, unfortunately. The fishing industry is still declining.", Rachel answered.

"That's unfortunate. I was hoping things would get better after the Prescotts had shut down the shipyard all those years ago.", Vanessa said.

"The Prescotts are ruining the town if you ask me.", Rachel responded.

Ryan's face went serious.

"It's always been like that. They stick their greedy fingers into everything they can get hold of. I'm glad I don't have to deal with them anymore, I tell you what."

"I spoke with one of the fishermen and they say there is virtually nothing left in the bay.", Max said. She remembered that this applied to both timelines.

"You two should really consider going elsewhere in the future if I dare say so.", Ryan suggested.

"Before I met Max, that's what I wanted to do. I always dreamt of Los Angeles.", Rachel said.

"California? That place is downright unaffordable these days, and it's only gonna get worse.", Vanessa stated.

"I was born there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to rip on your home state. It's just that when I hear what they pay for gas down there, my stomach turns around. Plus all those wildfires breaking out what seems like every five minutes."

"It's ok because you are right. The rising costs are one of the reasons my family moved to Oregon a long time ago. I hardly remember Long Beach anyway. I had this silly idea of making a break in modeling or something. But then I met Max and she managed to keep me a bit more grounded in my ambitions. But, I do miss my home sometimes."

"That's only natural, even we miss Arcadia Bay at times.", Ryan said. "But as you will see, Seattle is quite impressive."

"This food is terrific by the way.", Rachel remarked. She hadn't eaten seafood this good in a while. Not even the Two Whales could compete with this, at least not anymore.

* * *

They finished eating and had just gotten up from their chairs when Rachel stopped Max from leaving.

"I want to help out your folks, you can either assist me or wait in our room, your choice."

"With the dishes? Yeah, I guess we should make ourselves useful since we are here."

Rachel started piling on the empty plates when Vanessa noticed her doing so.

"Oh, honey, you don't have to do that. You are our guest."

"If we are going to be family soon, then I might as well do my part."

"Really, it isn't necessary. I insist."

"And I insist to help."

Seeing a stalemate in the making, Max decided to intervene.

"Mom, just let us help, please? I think we can handle a few plates and cutlery just fine."

"Ok, very well, Max. Your help is appreciated, Rachel."

After they had put away all the dishes and went back to their room, Max felt her phone buzzing. Someone left her a message.

 _"I like her already!" - Mom_

She showed the message to Rachel.

"See? As much I enjoy being pampered on occasion, this wasn't the time nor the place for it. Your folks were nice making this awesome dinner, so I didn't feel right just walking away from it.", Rachel said, justifying her actions.

"You are right. I just hope you and my mom won't headbutt too often. You are both very strong-minded."

"Did you just call me thick-headed?"

"Maybe?"

Rachel's eyes gave Max a glare.

"Careful there Maxter, I know where you sleep tonight."

Almost on cue, Vanessa showed up at their door and knocked.

"It's open!", Max called.

The door went open.

"Max, would you be a dear and help me get the air mattress in here?"

"Air mattress?"

"Yes, we can only fit one bed in here."

Max could feel her cheeks flaring up.

"Uh...mom we don't really need..."

"I can help you with that!", Rachel interjected and took off to help with the mattress.

Max was stumped. Was Rachel not gonna share the bed with her anymore? What was that about? Was this because of what they had talked about earlier?

They came back and hooked up the mattress to a power outlet.

"There you go. This thing will fill itself up and stop when it's full. All you gotta do is hit this button and seal it when it's done.", Vanessa said.

"Alright, thanks, mom."

"Have a good night you two, get some rest from your journey. We will be in the living room if you need anything."

"Good night.", Rachel and Max said both at once.

With that, Vanessa had left the room and closed the door again. Max looked over to Rachel with a confused expression on her face.

"Are you not telling me something? Because I feel like I'm missing something here."

"I'm not kicking you out of bed Max, quite the contrary."

"Huh?"

Rachel went ahead and let the mattress fill up with air. Once it was done, she took off her shoes and she laid down on it.

"You see Max when your mom mentioned getting an _air_ mattress, I had this great idea for an... experiment.", she said with a wink and putting her fingers together like a cartoon super-villain.

"Oh? What kind of experiment could that possibly be? I have no idea!", Max asked, pretending to sound as sarcastic as possible.

Rachel rolled herself over, leaving some room on the mattress.

"In that case Max, would you kindly lock that door?"

Max obeyed.

"Now, how about you kill the lights and come down here to find out?"

"I guess I will make myself available in the name of science."

Rachel responded with a rather victorious smile.


	15. Bond

Rachel and Max were successful in applying for their marriage license. Now, they had to wait three days until they could use it. The wait was agonizing, but Max's parents had given them some pointers on how to pass the time in Seattle. Max also wanted to make sure to snap some amazing photographs, so her and Rachel embarked on a rather scenic journey of some of Seattle's best locations. During their trip, Max decided to treat Rachel to a local specialty.

"You are going to love these."

She passed Rachel a plastic cup with a drink unknown to her.

"What is it called again?", Rachel asked.

"Bubble tea. That probably sounds weird to people who aren't from here, but give it a try."

Rachel proceeded to take a sip.

"Wow, that's really good actually. Kinda weird to have to have these pearl things floating in your drink though.", she said.

"Those are for texture, they aren't bad for you and mostly flavorless. The funny thing is, most of the time, they don't even put tea into these."

Rachel seemed sold on the drink.

"Thanks for showing me around, Max. This is exactly what I wanted us to be doing together. I hope this won't be our last big trip."

"Me too. I'm not into traveling as much as you are, but I admit, it feels so good to have a change of scenery. You can only do so much in Arcadia Bay. What do you want to do next?", Max inquired.

"Know any good places to shop around here?"

"You bet I do. In fact, I know a place not too far away from here."

They moved on and eventually found the place that Max was talking about. They entered a small indoor mall in downtown Seattle known as Pacific Place, a shopping mall. Despite being indoors, the place was brightly lit due it's reinforced glass ceiling. Rachel just stood in awe.

"Wow, this is everything I never knew I wanted!", she exclaimed.

"I guess you haven't been to too many malls huh?", Max asked.

"I have, but that was ages ago, mostly when my family would go on a trip to Portland which didn't happen often. Excuse me, it's really been a while."

"Well don't go too crazy now, I usually just enjoy looking around, more than anything. Of course, if you do see something interesting, let me know."

As they went deeper inside the mall, they came across a clothing store that looked right up Rachel's alley.

"I wanna check this out.", she said with excitement.

Going inside, Max felt like she stepped into another world. She found herself surrounded by all things punk. Band themed t-shirts, torn jeans, key chains and more leather than one could wear throughout an entire lifetime filled the place from floor to ceiling. This would without a doubt have been Chloe's favorite store in town. Rachel found her eyes catching something interesting every few seconds. To say she acted like a kid in a candy store was an understatement. While checking out the t-shirts, she spotted one to her liking.

"That one!"

Max looked where she was pointing. It was a shirt with a metallic looking angelic figure on it. Upon closer inspection, it read "Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution". It was an album cover.

"I thought you listened to Metallica?", Max noted.

"I like a lot more than just them. Priest rocks, best British band ever!"

"The artwork does suit you.", Max said, the irony of Rachel's choice not escaping her.

"Aw, thanks, Max."

Max didn't really see anything interesting for herself, but she did spot a pair of slick looking leather boots. Looking back and forth between them and Rachel, she had an idea.

"Rachel, what about these?", Max said while pointing at the boots.

"Huh, an interesting suggestion. My old ones are kinda worn out anyway. I think I will try these."

As it turned out, they were a perfect fit.

"Do you like them?", Max asked.

"Are you kidding me? These are awesome!"

"Consider those my treat."

"Max, you've spoiled me rotten already."

"You deserve it."

"Alright, if you say so. I gotta admit, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't appreciating this. Thanks."

The next two days, Max showed Rachel around more key locations. Including the Space Needle, although Max insisted they go up there as late as possible to get better pictures of Seattle at night. She also introduced her to the best ice cream she ever had. Life was great for once and they could have felt entirely carefree If it weren't the for the big day approaching fast. The next day would decide the rest of their lives.

The night before was dreadful. Max was so excited she could hardly find any sleep. Rachel didn't seem to be doing any better.

"Can't sleep?", Rachel asked her.

"I feel like I drift off and not long after I wake up again. It's like I'm electrically charged."

"Me too. I don't think I was ever this nervous before now."

"Glad to know I'm not the only one then. Aren't we supposed to be happy about this? Not freaking out?", Max asked.

"I don't think it's that. I think it's the fact that we leave our destiny in the hands of someone else to decide what happens to us next. I know deep down that this will work out since we went over everything more than twice. But until it's done, I don't think I can relax."

Max played with her ring.

"Isn't it crazy how much such a little ring can mean?", she said.

"True. I still remember the moment I gave that to you. That was the hardest thing I have ever done, but once you said yes, it quickly turned into one of the best. I want it to be your wedding ring as well. There is a lot of meaning in that one."

"As long you will like yours as well."

"Max, as long as you are there for me, that is all I need."

"Do you want to do the traditional wedding vows Rachel?"

"I was thinking we could come up with our own.", she replied.

"That's what I was hoping. Our circumstances almost require that. The traditional stuff doesn't seem sufficient to me."

"I agree."

Max felt a bit of relief. Maybe now sleep might not elude her for the rest of the night.

Before she knew it, the alarm on her phone rudely awakened her. She felt almost as tired as when she had gone to bed the night before. Both her and Rachel had little to no appetite this morning and they had to force their breakfast toast down. Max's parents had volunteered to act as the witness to the proceedings, as they needed two people to act as such. Rachel had taken custody of Max's ring for now, as they would be exchanging it again later. Her hand felt like it was missing a piece.

With ever faster-beating hearts, they arrived at the courthouse. To Rachel, every step towards the building felt like walking on a cloud. Inside, once through a security checkpoint, they had to wait their turn in a holding area. Rachel held on to Max's hand the whole time, refusing to let go. She tried her best not to make it apparent, but she felt a strange sensation. One the one hand, she was scared of something going wrong, on the other she was clinging to the hope that her and Max could fulfill their dream.

"Are you nervous?", she asked Max, whose expression was hard to read.

"Understatement of the century, Rachel. But I'm not scared, if that's what you are worried about."

"I'm glad. I have always foreseen this moment, you know? It's what had kept me going for so long without going crazy."

"I hear you, but just look at us. We have come so far, I know we can do this. I don't think I could have done something like this if it weren't for you though."

"What do you mean, Max?"

"I'm not as brave as you are Rachel and I'm honestly not sure if I ever will be. But you helped me break through my anxieties so many times. I would be horrified to imagine a world without you. I am so glad, that I tore that picture when I did. At this point, I don't think I could deal with finding you in the... well you know.", Max was near tears at this point just thinking about the other Rachel's fate.

"I'm not going anywhere, Max."

Then, their number was being called over the PA system. They got up and looked at each other one last time.

"I'm trying so hard not to cry right now.", Max admitted.

"Save it for later, if you start now, I won't be far behind."

Ryan, who previously kept his distance, had now put his hands on their shoulders.

"You got this, girls. Just remember why you are here and it will be over before you know it."

Together, they entered a small corner office, where a magistrate was waiting for them. They sat down on provided chairs next to each other.

He confirmed their documentation and made sure everything was in order for the ceremony to commence. First, he had Max's parents sign as witnesses.

"We just have to sign this and that's it?", Max asked.

"Yes, that's all it takes. That and the reciting your vows beforehand as well the exchange of your rings if you brought them with you. Just make sure you sign in your current maiden name.", the man said.

"We wish to use our own vows.", Max requested.

"Very well, that is fine. You may proceed.", the magistrate replied.

Max and Rachel turned to face each other. Max took hold of her hands and chose her words.

"Rachel Amber. Ever since I met you, we have been through the craziest things a human mind could conjure up. Since we met, you have always been at my side, as my source of confidence and my protector. You showed me how not to be afraid and to face life head-on. I love you, and today I swear to be yours until the world stops turning."

Max then presented the ring she got for Rachel. Her parents had given a sizeable donation to her to get this ring. She got it in the city without telling Rachel. Lifting the lid of the tiny box revealed a silver ring with a beautiful sapphire gem at its center.

She gently put it on Rachel's finger, feeling her tremble ever so slightly.

She then put down her signature.

 _Maxine Caulfield_

Rachel's face was a mirror of her inner struggle to try and hold back her tears of joy. It took her entire strength of will not to succumb to it. She responded in kind.

"Max Caulfield. You have been my angel and savior on more than one occasion. I could never express my gratitude enough just by using words. Instead, I ask you to be my beloved wife. I will make it my goal to ensure that your happiness shall always outshine the darkness. From this day forward, I too shall truly be yours, as are my unending love and affection, no matter what the future holds."

She revealed the ring that Max had already known from before, but that in no way reduced the emotional impact of seeing it being offered to her like this. She almost choked up when Rachel put it on her.

Rachel then also signed her name.

 _Rachel Dawn Amber_

"You may now kiss your spouse.", the Magistrate said.

Max looked at Rachel with a look that might as well have spelled out a big question mark. They hadn't considered this one of all parts.

Rachel however, didn't feel like debating at this point and took the initiative.

No matter how many kisses they had shared over time, this one felt special. Like many times before, Max's mind was on fire. If it weren't for the slight awkwardness of the situation, they would have gladly continued it. Rachel's eyes told Max that she wanted more, way more. But that would have to wait for now.

"You should receive your wedding certificate at the designated address soon. Once you have that filed, you are all done. You are now officially married, congratulations."

"Thank you so much!", Rachel uttered.

"I'm just doing my job, but you are welcome."

They left the courthouse again and once they were outside, they could no longer contain their excitement and fell into each other's arms.

"Max, this happened. This really just happened! Oh I love you so much!", Rachel yelled. She was ecstatic and full of energy.

"It really did!", Max yelled in agreement. She felt like the weight of the whole world just came off her shoulders. They felt on top of the world.

Ryan and Vanessa just stood there watching, with big smiles on their faces.

"Look at them. Have you ever seen our Max so happy before?", Vanessa asked her husband.

"No, not like this. I should have known she would pick the right one.", he said.

Settling down after the initial wave of happiness had swept over them, Max gave her parents an apologetic look.

"Sorry to make you guys wait, it's just... gah, I don't even know what to say right now!"

Ryan chuckled.

"It's alright honey, this is your day and yours alone. Take all the time you need. We'll be waiting for you.", he said after which he and his wife went ahead to the family's car.

Max turned to face Rachel again.

"You are so incredible, Rachel Amber, do you know that? I can't even stop crying damn it.", she said while wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"You are hella awesome yourself... Max _Amber_."

Max put on a big smile.

"I think I'm warming up to being called that name.", she said.

"You better! It's yours now, just like me. You have been treating me way too well these last couple of days by the way. I think it's only fair if you get to decide what we do with the rest of this day."

"I would love to go out tonight, just you and me and the shining light of the candles."

"Oh, how romantic. What do you have in mind?"

"You know it."

"Italian?", Rachel asked with a knowing smile.

"Italian indeed."


	16. Agreements

Having caught up with Max's parents, Rachel and Max got into the car. There was still some time left before they would go out, so they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at their place. The whole way there, Max would not let go of Rachel's hand. They kept giving each other glances.

Rachel once again found herself admiring how far Max had come. She still remembered the look of utter confusion on her face when they bumped into each other at Blackwell. Sometimes, Rachel wondered how different the original Max really was by comparison. Would she also have said "yes" to her proposal? Did that even matter now? To her, Max was Max, it was that simple. Rachel often wondered about this other timeline or universe where Max came from. How would she have turned out if Max hadn't been there for her? Instead, this girl Chloe, that Rachel barely got to know, had been her partner. A partner the other Rachel ended up betraying over drugs and favors. Was she really capable of that? Would she pick personal gain over those that mattered to her? Or did Chloe not even matter that much to the other Rachel that she was willing to throw her away like an unwanted sock? The thought horrified Rachel. Before Max, she didn't exactly feel like settling for anything or anyone. Her charms often allowed her to get her way and once upon a time, she relished that feeling. That feeling of pulling people's strings without them noticing. These questions always rang in her mind, eventually, she would have to tell Max, just to let it all out. At the same time, she was concerned about her reaction. This wasn't the time though, as she wanted to enjoy the evening with her wife until they had to return to Arcadia Bay the next day. Her wife. A new word in Rachel's vocabulary. Hearing herself being referred to as such would take some getting used to as well. She inspected the ring on her hand, with its radiant blue sapphire shimmering in the light. It made a great contrast to Max's red garnet and suddenly, Rachel wondered if the choice of color was intentional.

"Hey, Max?"

"Yes?"

"Why a sapphire?"

"I thought it would complement the garnet you gave me. Besides, I know you love the color blue."

"I wonder what made you think that?"

"Oh gee, I don't know. Your blue flannels, the blue hair you gave me and that pretty blue feather of yours? It's pretty obvious that it's your favorite color."

"A good deduction Inspector Amber, but blue is not my favorite color. It's just the one I prefer to display. It's my second favorite I guess you could say."

"Oh really?"

"Yup, my favorite color is red."

"That probably would have been my second guess. Why red?"

"Red is the color of passion, raw power of emotion and of course, love. It invokes so many powerful feelings. That and you are sure to get attention with it."

"It also represents fire and anger.", Max pointed out.

"You know me too well, Max. Yes, I am guilty of those too at times."

Driving the car, Ryan decided to chime in on the conversation.

"It's hard to imagine you angry Rachel."

"Trust me, you don't want to see me like that. Thankfully it had been a while that I had a reason to be. I don't think I have ever felt so consistently happy in my life."

"By the way, Rachel, welcome to our family. I meant to say this earlier, but I didn't want to butt in."

"It's alright. I'm grateful to be a part of you now. Of course, the same goes the other way. I know my parents would want to meet you too and get to know their new in-laws."

"Maybe one day we can arrange that.", he said.

"That would be lovely."

Rachel didn't have the courage to say it, but she was grateful for her new family. Even if Ryan wasn't blood-related, he was the closest thing Rachel had found to a loving father figure that she didn't despise in some way.

* * *

The evening approached and Max and Rachel left the Caulfield's home to go to their big outing. Max had found an Italian restaurant nearby that sounded very promising. Since it wasn't as far away, they decided to walk the way there. It should have taken them no more than about ten minutes to get there. However, despite having walked for longer than that, they yet had to arrive at their destination.

"I'm starving here, Maxter. Are you sure you read that map correctly?", Rachel asked impatiently.

"I could have sworn I did, it should be right around here."

"Well, it's not."

They kept going for another ten minutes.

"You know, we are going to get lost at this rate.", Rachel pointed out.

"Then let's turn around and see if we walked past it or something."

They backtracked and still saw no sign of the elusive Italian restaurant.

"Max... it's getting hella cold out here.", Rachel said while rubbing her arms to stay warm.

"I know, I thought we would be there within minutes. It shouldn't take this long to find it!"

"Ok, this is getting silly. We've been running in circles. Also, why is it so freaking cold?!", Rachel complained.

"This is Seattle, drama queen!"

"No shit Sherlock."

"Oh my god, you complain more than Chloe! I thought she was bad!"

"I'm married to you, it's my job now.", Rachel pointed out.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. It's in the fine print."

"Well excuse me, princess! If 't be true thy highness is so cunning, then wherefore haven't we hath found this restaurant yet?", Max mocked Rachel in the way she knew best.

"Max, I swear one of these days I'm gonna get you back for that. Badly."

"I dare thee to tryeth."

Max's challenge was met with silence and a glare. Rachel realized that Max was getting better at their banter. She secretly enjoyed it a great deal, but there was no way she would let Max know this, or let her win without a fight.

"One thing is true though.", Rachel said.

"What?"

"You are damn right I'm your princess! And don't you forget it!"

"Oh, you...", Max was comically clenching her fists.

Max really didn't seem to like the idea of losing this argument to Rachel.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where you saying something my dear?", Rachel teased her.

"Alright, that's it. The next place we come across we eat at. Deal?"

"It's your call, Max.", Rachel responded with feint resignation.

"Ha, now that's better.", Max said with satisfaction.

"Of course, it was _you_ who got us lost in the first place, so I gotta say I'm being awfully generous here."

"Rachel, I swear you better watch your back tonight."

"What? Are you going to punish me? On our wedding night of all times?", Rachel said with the most innocent face she could muster.

"You would probably want that wouldn't y...oh crud no."

"What?"

"Rachel, look."

Rachel turned where Max was pointing towards.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me right now.", she exclaimed in disbelief.

They stared at a fast food restaurant. It was one of many in a popular local chain of burger joints.

"Rachel, I feel like we should have specified what kind of place."

"That would have been prudent in hindsight. Awesome find Maxter! A deal is a deal though and I'm hungry. Let's salvage what we can from this evening."

"Yeah let's, I promise that next time I will pay more attention to the map."

"It's ok, Max. At least we have a funny story to tell everyone now."

They went inside to order.

"Hello, how are you guys doing tonight?", the cashier greeted them.

"You don't wanna know.", they both said in unison.

* * *

After filling up on burgers and fries, a meal that was wholly inappropriate given the occasion, they started walking back, still holding on to the milkshakes they hadn't finished yet.

"What a crazy ass day.", Max exclaimed.

"Yeah, this is definitely up there.", Rachel replied.

"Hey, Rachel, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Remember when you asked me a few months ago about my first kiss with a girl?"

Rachel giggled in response.

"I sure do, I still can't believe you hit on Chloe before me."

"Well, it was more a test of courage more than anything, it never led anywhere."

"And that's why I'm not making a big deal out of it.", Rachel stated.

"Well, anyway Rachel, I kind of got curious..."

"Curious about what?"

"Who was your first victim?"

"Wow, _victim_? Am I that bad a kisser?"

"Actually, you are not, quite the contrary as a matter of fact. I'm just being funny."

"I know, Max so am I."

"Well, who was it?"

"Well, if you must know, there was this one girl from Blackwell that I was briefly involved with shortly before I made you that fateful video. About a month or so before that, she decided to make a move on me."

"Wow, that's brave. Who was she? Do I know her?", Max inquired.

"You don't know her, she wasn't at Blackwell anymore when you arrived. Her name was Steph, Steph Gingrich. She was hardcore into RPGs and stuff. Anyway, we didn't work out."

"What happened?"

"She was way too headstrong."

Max gave Rachel a deadpan look.

"Pot meet kettle.", Max declared.

"I mean it! We couldn't agree on anything! It always a tug of war to get anything done and it got so frustrating that we mutually agreed to stop seeing each other."

"Sorry to hear that."

Rachel could tell immediately that this was a lie.

"You are many things Max Amber, but you aren't really sorry for that. This ring here tells me otherwise."

"Yeah I guess I'm not really, I wouldn't have you in that case."

"I mean, she was cute but not as cute as you are. After that, I felt entirely alone and that's when I almost got run over by a freaking freight train on purpose. You know the rest."

Rachel looked over at Max, with a particular interest in her hair.

"You know, I'm kinda missing the blue on you.", she said, pointing out the fact that Max's blue hair had started fading long ago. It was barely visible now.

"I gotta admit, I kinda do too.", Max admitted.

"I would love to see you sport that again.", Rachel said.

"I tell you what, I'll make you a deal."

"Another one? Remember how well the last one went just now?"

"This one is guaranteed to get you excited."

"I'm listening."

"Ok, if I agree to not only dye my hair blue again but also agree to keep it that way until you get bored of it, you will agree to do something for me in return."

"What is thine wish?"

"You gotta dye yours too, but not blue. I want to see your blonde hair get streaks of crimson red. The same condition applies, you gotta keep it for as long I want."

"So... you literally want to put me on fire? Is that it?"

"Yes, I guess so. I think that would look amazing on you."

Rachel thought about it. The thought appealed to her greatly.

"Sounds hot."

"Really?"

"Pun intended."

"It's you, of course, it is."

"Alright, it's agreed then. Blue for you, red for me."

"But remember, just streaks. Although all-red would probably look pretty sweet on you too."

"That's fine, streaks it is."

* * *

They walked home safely, without getting lost this time. When they entered the house, Vanessa saw them coming in.

"Oh, you are back already? How was your outing?"

Max and Rachel looked at each other before they both faced Vanessa.

"You don't wanna know.", they said once again in unison.

"That good huh?"

"Mom, I will tell you another time, at this point we just want to relax I think.", Max said, looking at Rachel for approval.

She nodded.

Having gone to their room, Max checked the time. It was 7:30 PM.

"It's too early to sleep yet, you up for a movie?", Max asked Rachel.

"I didn't bring any with us, so that's up to what your folks got."

"I'll be right back, I'm sure I can find something you'd like."

"Surprise me, Max."

"Sure, back in a moment."

Rachel was alone for a moment. Much like she had earlier, she felt ever more envious of Max for having the parentage that she had. Sure, her parents lived far away from Arcadia Bay, but they supported them all the way. Rachel could feel herself getting comfortable around them, almost wishing they could stay here longer. But their school schedule did not permit that. She thought about her own parents or at least those that she thought were her parents. Rose had always been a great caretaker, that Rachel could not deny. But, knowing that she wasn't her actual mother had put a dent into that relationship, although they still got along perfectly fine. The whereabouts of her real mother were unknown to her. Occasionally she felt the desire to try and find her, but with nothing to go on, that was a fool's errand. Her dad, Rachel could never understand. How can you lie to your own child like that for over 15 years? Rachel couldn't fathom herself doing the same. There was no way he would ever divulge any information about her mother either. She looked down at the ring on her finger, admiring its sparkle. She would never have children of her own with Max, for obvious reasons, but she was wondering whether Max was interested in adopting one day. She quickly subdued the thought, as it was way too soon to worry about something like that. She then heard the sound of Max's approaching footsteps and snapped her mind back to the here and now.

* * *

Walking in, Max hid the DVD behind her back, so that Rachel couldn't see it.

"Whatcha hiding there Maxter?"

"I admit I'm taking a gamble with this one, I have no clue if you are into this stuff.", Max said.

She then revealed her choice.

Rachel recognized it immediately.

"Iron Man 3?!"

"My parents just got this one last month when it came out. Is this ok?"

"Ok? This is great! I didn't get to see it in theaters because of school."

"I take it you like these movies then?"

"I love them, great choice Max!"

Max took a look at Rachel and started pacing back and forth.

"What is that look supposed to mean?"

"I'm just wondering who your favorite Avenger is."

"You first, Max."

"Hm... I think Captain America."

"Of course, you goodie two shoes are a perfect match."

"Yeah? Then who is yours?"

Rachel took a moment to think it over, but ultimately the choice was easy.

"Thor."

"Yeah, I can see why.", Max said with a smirk and wink.

"Did... did you just wink at me?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Gosh, you really are becoming more like me, I gotta watch out from now on."

"I know why Thor is your favorite Rachel."

"Oh, really? Then why is that?", Rachel said while crossing her legs.

"Duh! He's got the body of a Greek god, of course, you'd be salivating all over that!"

"Ok, first off, he is a Norse god, not a Greek one. Secondly, I like him because he brings some much-needed attention to the folklore of Norway, a fascinating country."

Max seemed to try her hardest not to laugh.

"Yeah right, that's _totally_ the reason. Folklore uh-huh.", Max said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"I swear!"

"Rachel, I can think of exactly six other reasons instead. You can't fool me anymore."

"Fine, I will give you this round.", Rachel said sheepishly.

"Thought so."

They watched their movie from their bed, with Rachel in full on fan-girl mode all the way through, offering her live commentary to virtually every scene. Even when the movie ended, she couldn't stop talking about it.

"Dude, that was so cool when Tony blew up all of those suits!"

"You really enjoyed that didn't you, Rachel?"

"Great, now I'm not so sure anymore on my favorite Avenger. Damn you Tony Stark and your playboy swagger!"

"You are in an awfully good mood.", Max said in an unusual tone.

Rachel could tell that there was something going on with the tone of Max's voice, she was clearly up to something. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Max locking the door.

"Max, I don't care about what happened to our little trip earlier, I had a perfect day, thanks to you."

"I could say the same, but do you know the best part of it?"

"What's the best part, Max?"

Before Rachel realized what had happened, Max had already pushed her over, pinned her down and started making out with her.

"Wow, someone is impatient tonight."

"You aren't the only one who waited all day for this, so you aren't going anywhere."

"Aren't you gonna get the lights first?", Rachel asked in confusion.

"Nope."

"But you always insisted that..."

"Not anymore."

Then Rachel felt a new sensation. She could feel an ever so slight bite on her neck. It felt utterly intoxicating. She liked where this was going.


	17. Pretense

With heavy hearts, Rachel and Max bade farewell to Ryan and Vanessa. It was time for them to return to Arcadia Bay and get back to Blackwell Academy. Driving south, Max took the wheel during the first leg of their journey home.

"When you woke up this morning, how long did you take to realize that you are married?", Rachel asked Max.

"Honestly, it took but a second. As soon as I laid eyes on you, I was reminded. It felt great."

"Same here. It's a whole new feeling isn't it?"

"Yeah, but a good one. Being married to you means more to me than just a legal contract though. I feel genuinely proud of us, in a way I hadn't quite felt before."

"I know exactly what you mean, Max."

Rachel gave Max a long admiring look. Max wondered what it meant.

"Last night was... quite unexpected, dare I say."

"How so?", Max said while blushing.

"Max, I have never quite seen you act like that with me before. You weren't afraid of anything and may I point out, somewhat _aggressive_."

Max's face felt on fire at this point.

"I mean that in the best way possible of course. I'm not made of paper-mâché you know. I don't mind you being a little rough."

"It just sort of came over me. I didn't hurt you did I?"

"I will let you be the judge on that one.", Rachel said in a flirty way.

She revealed her lower neck. Taking a quick glance, Max immediately noticed what Rachel was referring to. Several small spots dotted Rachel's neck. Max found herself caught between being embarrassed and wanting to burst out laughing at the same time.

"Did I do that? Oh god.", she uttered, trying to hide her grin with her free hand.

"Take it from someone who was there for it Max, you damn well did. I should know, I felt every one of those!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was being that bad."

"Max, I've literally been teasing you all day at that point, I knew you were gonna get me back somehow. Besides... it felt kinda nice."

"Rachel, I know I might appear somewhat agitated when we do argue, but you know what? You are fun to argue with."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, to me it's all in good fun. I can tell you were just playing, if I was mad at you, you would know if I was."

"Oh good, because I have to admit, I enjoy our banter quite a bit, to be honest. I didn't wanna admit that last night, but I had a blast, even if it was cold as hell in Seattle."

"Oh stop, it wasn't that bad."

"You know where I'm from right?"

"Are you telling me you Cali-girls can't deal with a bit of a chill?"

"Like you could take the heat down in Cali?"

"Well, we are gonna find out aren't we?"

"How?"

"We are going on a cruise remember? Texas is already pretty hot, just wait until we get to the Caribbean sea."

"I can't wait for that. Like I said, as soon as we have the certificate filed, I will look into booking it for the Summer Break. It's gonna be so great Max, I just know it."

"But just to make it clear Rachel, I didn't intentionally give you those bites."

"So you mean it was just an accident?"

"I guess so. I will try to be more careful in the future. Promise! Besides, I don't want you to go through the effort of covering those spots up all the time."

"Just don't be too careful in showing me your love now Max. Besides you mean I should cover them?"

"Yeah, I mean you don't want people to see those do you?"

"Max, I will be damned if I did that. I will keep these for as long as they last and consider them my trophies."

"Wow, you _are_ a brave soul Rachel Amber. If I had a hat, I would tip it you."

"I don't think a hat would suit you, Max. But more blue hair? That's more like it."

"I haven't forgotten our agreement, I hope you haven't either."

"Oh, I'm going through with it before we get back to school. I'm gonna be ablaze like a phoenix before long, which was a great idea by the way. For some reason, I have never dyed my hair before. This seems like the perfect time to try."

* * *

They got to the Amber residence safely, receiving a warm welcome from Max's new in-laws. After eating lunch together, they shared the pictures that Max took in Seattle, which led to James commenting on how he hadn't seen an instant photograph in a long time. He remarked that the last one he remembered seeing was taken at Mt. Hood with Rachel many years ago. Max went through an internal flashback upon hearing this, remembering the picture she found in the junkyard, which Rachel had used for target practice with her knives. She did not mention it though.

They spent their day getting ready for school and getting their hair done. Max got her's done first and it met Rachel's approval, to say the least.

"That still looks awesome, Max!", she exclaimed.

"Feels good to rock this color again."

"Careful now Maxter, or else you might find yourself waking up with a hickey or two on your neck tomorrow."

"You are still full of it."

"You know it."

Rachel went ahead and took her turn now. Max was trying to imagine the result in her head, but she knew that her imagination wouldn't do Rachel justice.

When Rachel stepped out, Max couldn't help but gasp.

"Wow!"

"Well, how do I look?", Rachel asked while walking up close to Max.

Rachel's hair had several dark red streaks running through it now, complementing her natural blonde. She now sported a fiery mane like a lion, which Max found rather ironic, given Rachel's zodiac.

"You look... just breathtaking. That turned out better than I thought it would, holy shit."

Rachel ran her fingers gently through Max's hair.

"You look pretty breathtaking yourself, you know. Don't sell yourself short now."

"Still, I have got to take a picture of you right now.", Max insisted.

Peering outside, Max noticed the sun going down.

"I've got it, let's go outside and it will capture the light of the setting sun. That's gotta be an awesome shot!"

"You are the expert, Max."

They went outside and Max instructed Rachel on a good pose for the shot. When she was happy with what she saw, the snapped the picture and the camera printed it out immediately. The image looked stunning, with Rachel's hair almost looking like it was truly ablaze in the lighting.

"You, know, I could get used to this. You taking pictures of me I mean.", Rachel mused.

"All you gotta do is ask really, I know I'm not wasting film when it comes to your pictures."

"I take that as a compliment, considering the cost of that stuff."

* * *

The next morning, Max awoke only to find Rachel already awake next to her, an unusual occurrence.

"I gotta say, Max you look _particularly_ great this morning.", Rachel said with a somewhat devious looking smile.

"Uh... thanks I guess? Where is that coming from out of the sudden?", Max asked in confusion.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just wanted to give you a compliment is all."

Max's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Just a compliment huh?"

"That's all it is."

"I still don't trust you."

"Then why did you marry me?"

"Ok, I got nothing on that one."

After getting dressed, Max went to the bathroom to brush her teeth like usual. Meanwhile, Rachel had remained behind, still in bed, watching her leave as if she was waiting for something to happen. Then, after only a few seconds had passed, the air was being disturbed by a sound of sheer anger and embarrassment.

"RACHEL DAWN AMBER!"

Max stormed back into the room, looking flustered.

"Oh, whatever are you so worked up about Max?" Rachel asked, pretending to be innocent.

"Care to explain _these_?", Max asked angrily, pointing at her neck.

Her neck had two hickeys on them, which she hadn't noticed until she had looked in the mirror just a moment before.

Rachel was laughing her head off at this point and could not respond. She got Max good that time.

"Oh, you are so hella dead!", Max threatened.

To get her revenge, Max proceeded the tickle Rachel like crazy, who was trying to roll away to avoid her, her giggling laughter running out of control. She made no effort to defend herself this time. She knew she deserved it.

When Max stopped, Rachel was still giggling like a lunatic, taking a moment to calm down again.

"Ok, Maxter, I will admit I had that coming, but you know the best part? It was totally worth it!"

"I knew I felt something weird during my sleep last night, you bit me you snake! I thought I dreamt about vampires!"

"Hey, I'm no snake, I'm a lion.", Rachel corrected her.

"More like a cougar."

"Oh, wow, did you really just go there?"

"Yup."

"Damn, that's savage. The weird thing is, I don't wanna counter that."

"Why is that?"

"I won't say. Life needs a little mystery, my dear."

"You wanna go for another round of tickles?"

"Oh, no I think I got my monthly fill back there, thank you very much."

"Then I suggest you get real quiet, real fast."

"I love you too, Max.", Rachel said with a grin.

* * *

They went to Blackwell like they normally would, however, this time their joined entrance turned more heads than ever. Between their new hair colors, rings and obvious hickeys, which Rachel made no effort whatsoever to hide on her part, everyone stared at them like a herd of startled deer.

"Dude, they are all staring.", Max said.

"Let them! Just absorb their envy, that's what I do.", Rachel stated.

"Easy for you to say, glamour queen, I wouldn't be so embarrassed if it weren't for those damn hickeys you gave me!", Max complained.

Together, they had run into Victoria yet again. She was borderline speechless upon seeing them.

"Oh wow, uh you two look... well? Wait, did you get married?!", Victoria uttered, after noticing the rings.

"Hella yes, we did.", Rachel replied with pride, holding up her ring to make sure everyone could see it.

"Oh my god! You are married!", Victoria squealed.

Max and Rachel could notice how everyone around them started murmuring about this newly revealed fact. Most students either stared eyes wide or in utter disbelief. A crowd started forming around them.

"You think we got their attention now? What do we do?", Max asked feeling slightly anxious.

"I think a declaration is in order.", Rachel said.

What was that supposed to mean?

Rachel walked over to the steps leading towards the building, the entire crowd of people in tow like magnets. Turning towards them and raising her voice, Rachel was now addressing a crowd of onlooking students and even some of the teachers that were around from atop the stairs.

"Let it be known from this day forward that what you just heard is indeed true, Max and I are married."

It wasn't hard to hear the numerous disappointed groans coming from quite a few people. The most popular girl in school just become unavailable for good.

"Sorry to break your hearts my friends, I am truly, _truly_ sorry if I just did that. Alas, my poor heart was conquered by none other than the illustrious Max and her fiery passion. She swept me my off my feet and took me to a faraway place to seal our bond of eternal love. Henceforth, you may from now on address her as Mrs. Max Amber!"

Max wanted to sink into the ground and disappear in shame forever at this point. She didn't know what was worse, the fact that Rachel acted this out like a stage play or the fact that she put her on a pedestal like this.

At first, everyone just kept staring in awkward silence. Suddenly, one after another, they started clapping. Before long, the entire schoolyard was cheering them on and congratulating them. Most of them anyway.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, they kept getting comments and questions. Max felt like a celebrity out of the sudden, but she wasn't sure if she liked it, at least not right away. She also got rather frustrated with the fact that she had to keep reminding her teachers not to call her "Ms. Caulfield" anymore.

The end of her photography lesson approached, the last class of the day. However, Mr. West had one more announcement to make.

"Now, I know you are all waiting to leave for the day, but I have one more thing to announce before you do. Many months ago, Blackwell was approached about participating in the so-called "Everyday Heroes Contest". Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event ended up being delayed but is now due to take place after all. Every student will get the opportunity to turn in a photo, befitting of that theme. Entries are limited to one photo per student, participation is optional but highly encouraged. This could help you to a career one day as it will provide you with the attention of both professional artists as well as critics. The winner of the contest will accompany me to San Francisco where your work will be displayed at the Zeitgeist Art Gallery, a reputable institution that is holding this contest. You have until shortly after summer break from today to turn in your entry. The date of the exhibit is estimated to be scheduled soon after, so don't wait too long, lest that perfect shot might escape you. Any questions?"

Max raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Caulfield?"

Max felt kind of ashamed having to point the obvious. Again.

"Actually, it's Mrs. Amber now."

Some of the students in the class had to subdue their chuckles at the teacher's expense. He clearly wasn't aware of what the rest of the entire school already knew.

"Oh, really? I'm terribly sorry, it seems I wasn't aware of that change. As you know, I tend to be the last one to hear about any news. Still, congratulations, Max."

"Thank you, Mr. West."

"What was your question, Mrs. Amber?"

"I was curious if instant photographs can be submitted or if it needs to be a digital image?"

"Very good question. The answer is that Zeitgeist understands that not everyone is always enamored with the newest technology, especially artists. You can submit just about any format of a photo you want. A list of permitted media and guidelines will be provided tomorrow. Instant photographs are definitely allowed though, I checked."

The bell rang, ending the day of school.

"Alright people, you heard the bell. Focus on your studies, but don't forget about the contest!"

Having gone outside, Max looked around and could not find Rachel anywhere. After waiting for a moment, she still had not come out and she remained nowhere to be seen. Max pulled out her phone, which she had kept silenced during class. Rachel had left her a message earlier.

 _"Hey Maxter, I'm meeting with Megan at the train station this afternoon. She said she had something important for me to talk about and wanted no one else to come. Don't worry, I will be fine, just in case the crazy witch Kate is behind this, which I doubt, I always have my trusty knives on me. I left my parents a message as well, so everyone knows where I am. You can use our spare key to take the car, I will be walking home later. See you soon my love! - RA -  
_

* * *

Rachel arrived at the train station after a bit of a walk and found it was devoid of activity like it usually was this time of day. She spotted Megan waiting for her in the waiting area.

"Hey, Rach, glad you came.", Megan greeted.

"Sup, Megan. Been a while, once again.", Rachel replied.

"It has. You look freaking awesome if I may say so."

"Thanks. So, what did you call me here for?"

Megan's face went somewhat serious.

"I gotta apologize to you."

"For that Kate incident? I'm over that."

"No, for luring you here under false pretense."

"Wait... what?"

"I'm not the one who want's to talk to you. I hope you can forgive me, but this is for your own good."

Unbeknownst to Rachel, she and Megan were not the only people around. Someone was hiding in the shadows of the buildings' pillars. Was Kate back for her revenge after all?

"Thank you, Megan, you are free to leave now.", a voice unfamiliar to Rachel said.

Waving goodbye to Rachel, Megan walked away. Rachel was now alone with this strange person.

"Rachel Amber. That is who you are right?", they asked, still hiding in the shadow.

"I am, who are you and why do you care?"

"Tell me, Rachel, how are you and Max doing?", they asked, dodging Rachel's question.

"How do you know about Max and me?"

"The robbery that happened almost half a year ago. It was all over the news. I have been aware that you have been with her for quite some time."

Rachel remembered that day vividly. But what did that have to do with any of this?

"Ok, I've had it. Who the hell are you? Show yourself!"

Rachel could hear an audible sigh coming from the stranger.

"You are just as stubborn and impatient like I was. I was afraid you would turn out that way."

"Wait... what do you mean by turning out? I don't know you!", Rachel replied.

"You do know me, deep down. You just forgot."

"Wait... what are you talking about?"

The stranger stepped out of the shadows. Rachel beheld a pretty looking woman with brown hair, grey eyes with a number of tattoos on her arm. In a strange way, she seemed familiar out of the sudden. Rachel's mind was having difficulty with the sudden realization that came to her. It seemed impossible.

"This can't be...mom? Is... is that you?!"


	18. Ashes

Rachel waited anxiously for her answer. If this truly was her mother, what was going to happen next?

"Yes, Rachel. I am your real mother. My name is Sera."

Rachel's mind went numb. This was the mother her father kept her from her whole life? Not knowing how else to react, Rachel started to slowly walk up to Sera with her arms stretched out, close to crying. Sera permitted it and they embraced, Rachel's tears now flowing freely. In a strange way, it felt familiar, as if Rachel's body remembered what her mind could not. Rachel had a million questions burning on her mind now.

After letting go, it seemed Sera was waiting for her to ask them.

"Why did I never hear from you? Why did you not say something to me sooner?", she asked.

"I couldn't. Your father has made every effort to keep me from you. If it weren't for our mutual friend Megan, we wouldn't be meeting right now.", Sera answered.

"Megan? I had no idea she knew you."

"You underestimate the resourcefulness of your friends, Rachel. But yes, we knew each other for a while. It's a long story, best kept for another time. I didn't meet you sooner because for the longest time I thought your dad had a point in keeping me from you. I almost got to meet you about three years ago, but that didn't happen. Your dad hired someone to keep me from you."

"I know. I saw the phone messages he kept hidden."

"So you know what happened?"

"Only that he intimidated you into staying away."

"That is one way of putting it."

"Tell me. I wish to know."

"Rachel... I cannot tell you, I'm sorry."

"Then at least tell me where you have been all this time."

"Here and there. I left Arcadia Bay for a while but came back a few months ago. I never remained anywhere for too long, but always came back here."

"My dad told me that you were dangerous for me, that you and your habits would threaten my life. Is that true?"

"Rachel... I made some grave mistakes, that I admit. I put my addiction over your wellbeing and paid a high price for it. I lost my husband, my home and you. My whole life fell apart, but in time, I managed to rebound. Still, I believed he was right for a long time, that's why I ended up staying away until now. I'm currently living without any of the destructive habits that once threatened our family, I swear on this with my life. It is the only reason why I finally permitted myself to see you."

"Oh, mom..."

Rachel found herself completely overwhelmed by a whirlpool of different emotions. Pity, sadness, loss, anger. She quietly continued sobbing.

"I know I can't truly be part of your life as long as your father is stuck in his mindset. But I felt you deserved to know who I am. I do not wish for this to be our only meeting. You must promise me that you keep this a secret."

Sera handed Rachel a piece of paper.

"This is where you can find me. Do not let your father see this."

Rachel put away the paper, eyes towards the ground.

"Mom..."

"Yes?"

"What did he do to you?"

"Rachel, please do not make me say it."

"I insist, I need to know."

"No, you do not. If I tell you now, that won't accomplish anything. The past is the past and it is better if you don't know this."

Rachel felt her inner fire starting to stir. Her mind demanded an answer.

"Don't tell me what I need or not need to know! I have lived for years wondering whether or not you even fucking exist and now _you_ deny me the answer I have been craving? If you don't tell me the truth right now, then you are no better than the man that exiled you from our family! The man who almost took my life by trying to protect it!"

"What?", Sera was in shock.

"Yeah, he didn't mention that ever did he? In the days after I found out about his little scheme, I very nearly fucking killed myself. I came closer to death than most would ever want to. I stopped myself at literally the last second, but not because of him, mom."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Max, my wife, who I love so much, is the only reason I'm standing before you right now. If it weren't for her... I would be... I would be dead, mom. And the only one to blame for all that? It's the asshole that took you from me!"

"Oh, Rachel I'm so sorry. I did not know that you did that. That is horrible."

"Aren't you glad to know though? The truth sucks sometimes, but lies aren't any better. It was a lie that almost got me caught under a goddamn freight train!"

Sera remained quiet for a moment, with tears of her own rolling down her face.

"Alright, Rachel, I will tell what you wish to know. But know that this will hurt."

"I've been hurting my whole life, not knowing, might as well get it over with. At least I know what I have in life then."

"Very well, I will tell you."

"Please, I don't want to be left in the dark anymore.", Rachel begged.

"Three years ago, it was true that your dad kept me from you despite my best attempts to meet you. I even used legal measures, which failed. Then one day, this criminal shows up at my place, held a knife to my throat and forced me to follow him to this old abandoned mill."

"I know that place.", Rachel remarked.

"Well, once there he had me tied up and he waited for your dad to come and seal the deal. When James came, he handed the guy a bunch of money and... and..."

"And what?"

"He had me shot up with drugs after I just had gotten the point of being able to live without them, I had managed to remain clean for a while. With just one needle, he reset all my of my progress in fighting it. They knew that no one would believe a junkie in court. That is how he was able to keep custody of you and how to keep me away from you at the same time."

Rachel became furious, she could feel her fists shaking.

"That cannot be true, not even he would go that far!"

"It is true, I'm afraid. I told you this was going to be rough for you to hear."

Rachel wanted to find where this criminal was exact her revenge immediately.

"Mom, who was it that he hired?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Tell me!"

"Fine, if you must know, it was a man named Damon Merrick."

Damon Merrick. That name sounded familiar to Rachel somehow.

"I know I heard that name before somewhere. Where did I hear it?"

"Do you remember that robbery you got caught up in?", Sera asked.

"Yes."

"Damon Merrick was killed during that incident."

Then it hit Rachel. She faintly remembered watching the news that night. The man that drugged and threatened her mother was the same man that she had thrown a knife to the chest.

The same man that held a knife to Max's throat and then threatened to kill Rachel herself too.

Rachel could feel herself starting to shake and cry uncontrollably. She broke down to the ground and she started pounding the ground with her fists. It hurt like hell, but she didn't care. Her screams echoed through the air and her emotions ran wild.

"I'm sorry, honey. But it is what you wanted to know."

"That man... that man was the one who threatened to kill my Max too!", Rachel yelled in agony.

"He is dead now, it doesn't matter anymore."

"It does. The real monster is still around and I will make him pay for what he did!", Rachel said with a cold tone in her voice.

"Rachel, don't. Leave the past buried, we have to move on from this.", Sera begged.

"No, mom. I'm done being lied to, I'm done being coddled and protected. My so-called dad took my mother from me and now almost killed my wife. It is time to show him what happens when you fuck with me. I will contact you later, I must go, I'm sorry."

Rachel turned and stormed off, heading home at a brisk pace. She wanted to feel bad for leaving her mother behind like this, but her anger had overridden her sense of courtesy. All she felt was unbridled hate for the man that put her whole life at stake. Tonight, he would get a reckoning from Hell. It's the least he deserved.

* * *

Max was at the Amber's house and waited for Rachel. She was all alone at the house, as Rachel's parents had gone out to some kind of celebration for James' work. She was worried though, considering what happened the last time this Megan was involved. Max could still remember Kate's fury all too well. If only that didn't have to happen that way.

Suddenly, she heard the front door open and then immediately slam shut. Whoever just came home, was not happy.

Max got up and she called out.

"Rachel? Is that you?"

She received no answer. Instead, she could hear someone going through the living room as if they were wrecking the place. Max got scared, did someone break in!? Then, she could hear a voice that belonged to Rachel but sounded nothing like her. It sounded too cold and hateful to belong to her.

"Lies! Nothing but fucking lies!"

Max went downstairs, only to see Rachel take the place apart, taking pictures off their shelves and pulling photo albums from their drawers, not caring whether or not she damaged something else while doing so.

"Rachel?! What the hell are you doing?!", Max yelled.

"Not now, Max, please do not try to stop me!"

Max saw her pile all of the family pictures that Rachel could get her hands on into a trash bag she was carrying.

"I need to know what happened!", Max pleaded.

"Max, I said not now!"

A moment later Rachel stopped, looking around, probably checking if she had missed something. She then took the bag with all the pictures and went outside the house into the front yard. Max followed her. She then saw Rachel dump the contents of the bag into the empty metal garbage can outside.

"Rachel, think about what you are doing! Those are your family's memories that you are throwing away here!"

"Don't you think I'm quite aware of that Max? Also, these aren't memories and I'm not throwing them away."

"What do you mean?"

Max got her answer when Rachel revealed the candle lighter in her hand.

"These are nothing but lies and I'm about to set the record straight. I should have done this a long time ago!", Rachel uttered with fury, lighting up the flame.

Before long, the inside of the garbage can was ablaze with flames, destroying the entire photographic collection of the Ambers. The fire painted a glowing hue on Rachel's face, that was still ridden with anger and hate as well as dried tears. She just kept staring at the flames devouring the past. Whatever Rachel went through earlier, must have deeply upset her.

"Rachel, please tell me what happened!", Max pried.

"Max, I have realized that my father is even worse than I could have imagined. I'm giving him owed payback. This is for all the lies he ever told me."

Rachel's eyes were filled with the same fire she was staring at.

"He always told me I was such a great gift. Told me that I was the best thing that ever happened to him. Told me that I had to be careful not to become like my mom. Told me that he would never do anything to hurt me."

Rachel turned to Max, her face looking like she was about to kill someone.

"It was all fucking lies! My whole life has been a lie!"

"Rachel, I'm so sorry. Please, let me help you."

"I must do this on my own, Max. I must burn it all down, its the only way to get even."

Max then noticed Rachel suddenly looking back and forth between the house and the trash can. The house was within inches of the burning inferno.

"Burn it down.", she heard Rachel utter to herself like she was in an anger-induced trance.

Max had a terrible realization, the whole house was practically made of wood. One spark and the whole thing could go up in flames!

She made a dash towards Rachel, pushing her away from the burning trash can. She put herself between and stretched out her arms, blocking Rachel from burning down the house.

"Rachel, no! I won't let you do this!"

"Get out of my way. Right now."

"No, I won't. I will not allow you to destroy it all!"

"I said, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"NO!"

Before Max could have realized what happened, a loud cry like a raven had erupted from Rachel and a powerful gust of wind had picked her off the ground and flung her through the air like a ragdoll. The last thing she remembered was the image of the grassy lawn coming right at her at high speed as she fell and hit the ground where, after briefly rolling across the lawn, she remained lying motionlessly.

After exerting all of her power, Rachel saw Max hit the ground and within the blink of an eye, her anger had disappeared as quickly as it had come over her. She hurried to Max's side.

"No, Max, oh my god, what have I done?!", she uttered in anguish. "Please, Max say something!"

She tried shaking Max, trying to get her to wake up, but there was no reaction.

"Please, don't be dead! Please god no..."

Then Rachel's instincts kicked in. She picked up Max best as she could and carried her to the car. She had to get to a hospital right now. Securing her as best as she could on the rear seats, Rachel proceeded with haste to the only hospital in town. She drove like the devil, speed limits be damned.

"I swear Max, if you die on me now, then I don't know what I'm going to do."

* * *

Arriving at the hospital, she picked her up again and hurried inside, busting through the entrance.

"Please, someone, I need help!", Rachel yelled.

A nurse came to her.

"What happened?"

"She had fallen and lost consciousness, please help her, she means everything to me!"

After Max was rushed away, Rachel ended up pacing back and forth in the waiting room, the steps of her boots echoing through the hall. The wait was excruciating. This was all her fault, her power had hit Max head on. But there was nothing she could have done, blinded by her hatred she had lost any and all control over her actions. Rachel could not remember ever feeling so much remorse before, in the heat of the moment, her powers demanded to be unleashed and Max must have known that this could have happened.

"Max, why did you not listen?!", she murmured to herself.

She knew why, because Max didn't want her to make possibly the biggest mistake of her life. But it felt like the right thing to do at the time, that was the scariest part of all. Rachel was terrified of herself, fearing what extremes she was capable of. Suddenly, the things her alternate reality counterpart had done didn't seem so farfetched anymore. Was she really no better than her in the end? Max still seemed to have been alive when Rachel brought her here, but she had no idea how bad an injury she had inflicted. Rachel continued her crying in solitude, confronted with the fact she had hurt the most important person in her life. Would Max ever forgive this? Was this even forgivable?

After a wait of over an hour, a nurse came up to her.

"Your friend just woke up, she is doing ok."

"Oh thank god. Please, can I see her?"

"She is still weak, but I think it's ok. We will keep her here for the night in observation though, just to be sure."

"I understand, please take me to her."

They walked down the hall to Max's room, number 781.

* * *

As Rachel entered, her feeling of guilt intensified to nearly unbearable levels. Max laid on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown. This was not a sight Rachel ever wanted to see. She slowly stepped closer. For once, she had no idea what to say.

Max slowly turned her head to face her.

"I'm sorry Rachel, I had to do that."

"Max... if anyone here should feel sorry then it's me. I didn't want to hit you like that, I lost control...I...I..."

"I know.", Max responded, extending her hand towards Rachel. She hesitated to take it.

"What is wrong?", Max asked.

"Max, how is that even a question? After what happened, I'm not sure I deserve to hold your hand anymore..."

"Please, Rachel. This wasn't your fault back there."

Rachel took her hand and held on tight.

"Yes, it was. I was so angry, I hurt you, something I thought I could never do. I'm scared Max, scared of myself."

"That's why you have me. I will be there for you."

"Max, how can you be so damn understanding after what I have just done? I threatened your life for crying out loud! You could have... you could have died!"

"You not getting rid of me that easily. This ring was a promise and it is one I intend to keep, for better or worse. I know you didn't intend to hurt me, I knew the risk. I could not allow you destroy your home and all it represents."

"Max... I...I don't deserve you."

"Well, tough shit, you are stuck with me."

Rachel remembered the morning that Max had told her everything about her time traveling. The morning Max decided to stay forever.

"Max?"

"Yes?"

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You had a choice when you held that photo in your hands. Why did you choose me? You had a life where you came from, you had friends, family and you... you had Chloe."

"Rachel, it would have been incredibly unfair towards you."

"What?"

"I couldn't condemn you to possibly disappear forever, just because I made a mistake and didn't feel like owning up to it. I made a decision when I prevented William's death and you were the reason I decided to accept this world I created. You showed me that more than my own and Chloe's fate was affected. I deeply regret what happened to Chloe, it still hurts me to this day, but I cannot ignore that what I have done has affected so many others as well, including you. You were alive, not buried in a hole in the ground. If I had decided to leave, I could have taken everything from you, assuming you would even still exist after the fact. If would find you buried somewhere now, I don't think I could live with that."

"So you did it because you felt pity for me?"

"Not just that, but also because thanks to you I have found something I have unknowingly always searched for. I still love you and I always will. "Until the world stops turning" remember? I meant what I said."

"Max... I don't know how to thank you for saying that. I still feel like I don't deserve to hear these words, but I want you to know that I would never, ever hurt you intentionally."

"I know you wouldn't, this one is on me. I do not blame you for putting me here."

"How badly did I hit you anyway?"

"They say it's just a lot of bruises, they said I got lucky. I told them I fell off a tree trying to save a cat."

"And they believed that? We don't even have a cat."

"They heard crazier stories, believe it or not."

"So... you will be ok?"

"Yeah, they are just keeping me overnight to be safe, although I will miss school tomorrow. You will have to get through a day without me. I will let you know immediately if and when I get out of here, I promise."

"What should I tell my parents?"

"The same thing I told the doctors, I don't want them to think domestic abuse was involved, which wasn't the case anyway as far as I'm concerned."

"I still do not forgive my dad, Max."

"What happened anyway? Please tell me everything, did you meet Megan?"

Rachel explained to Max everything that happened. The encounter with Sera, the revelation of her father's deeds and the identity of the man who executed her father's crimes.

"Jesus, Rachel... I cannot believe that happened. I'm so sorry."

"You better believe it. I wish it wasn't true, but now you know the darkest secrets of the Amber family. Are you still proud to carry my name?"

"Of course, that will never change. Though I am happy you got to meet your mother, your dad won't be happy if he finds out I didn't stop you."

"What are you talking about Max?"

"Rachel, do you remember the day we told your parents that we were engaged? Your dad wished to talk to me alone."

"Yeah, I thought you did that to get his approval."

"That is exactly what it was about, however, he had a condition. He wished for me to agree with keeping you from ever running into your mom at all costs."

"That son of a bitch...", Rachel fumed.

"Please, don't be mad Rachel, I had no choice in the matter."

"I don't blame you for agreeing with that and not telling me, I know how scary my dad can be when he wants to be. This one is also on him."

"So you are fine with me having lied to you?"

"You didn't lie, Max, you omitted to tell me something. There's a difference."

"It didn't feel right regardless, I want you to know that I did not enjoy having to keep my mouth shut."

"I believe you, Max."

"What will you do now, Rachel?", Max asked.

"I can no longer stay at that house."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, would you mind a roommate in that dorm room of yours?"

"Don't you have your own room?"

"My parents didn't see the necessity, seeing how we live in town."

"In that case, I don't mind. I hope the school won't either."

"I can pull some strings with Wells, leave that to me."

"What about tonight though?", Max asked.

"There is a place I can stay far away from my parents, I will be fine."

"I hope to see you again soon, Rachel."

"I hope you get well soon, Max. I better get going."

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, Max."

* * *

Rachel drove home, feeling relieved that Max didn't judge her for what happened earlier, however, the feeling of guilt in her gut didn't want to go away regardless. However, as she approached her parent's house to pick up some basic supplies for herself, her family had already returned home, causing her anger to start burning again. There was no way she could avoid this confrontation. Bracing herself for the worst, she went inside.

"Rachel, what the hell happened here?!", James asked.

"Your reckoning, motherfucker!"

"Excuse me!?"

"You heard me loud and clear. This was for all the lies and deceit you subjected me to. I am aware of what you have done, everything."

"The hell are you on about?"

"Does the name Damon Merrick ring a bell?"

James went pale.

"Thought so. Karma is a bitch, isn't it? Sorry he had to bite the dust but that piece of shit deserved it, I should have done more than throw a knife to his chest. I went easy on him, really."

"Rachel, you don't understand."

"Oh, I understand perfectly. I understand once again that you are no longer someone that I can call my father! I'm out of here!"

Before she could turn around and leave, she spotted a trophy award made of glass sitting on the table that wasn't there before. It read:

 _"Integrity Award 2014 for_ _JAMES AMBER_ _for his strong resolve and commitment to the well-being of the citizens of Arcadia Bay."_

Rachel snatched it up, lifted it and smashed it on the floor with all her might, shattering the trophy into thousands of shiny pieces.

"Fucking hypocrite!", she fumed.

Much to her surprise, James did not erupt into a fit of rage, instead, he had gotten very quiet.

"Rachel, will you come back?"

"Don't count on it.", spitting her words like venom.

She rushed upstairs and filled a duffle bag will as many supplies and it would fit, she brought clothing, food and drink among other necessities. She then carried the bag to the car and dropped it inside, however, Rose ran outside after her.

"Rachel, honey please consider what you are doing!", Rose called in desperation.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, _Rose_. For someone who pretended to be my mom, you lack some serious lady balls, did I ever tell you that?"

She slammed the car door shut and drove off, feeling free of the shackles of her so-called father. After a while of driving, she arrived at her destination, the junkyard. She got out and carried her stuff to the junk shack and went inside.

"Hello, my old friend."


	19. Regret

Rachel went inside the junk shack, confronted with rather strange feelings. She remembered the time that she had spent in this small sanctity all too well. Looking at the graffiti that her and Max had left behind on the wall to mark their retreat made her feel even sadder than she already was. How much would she have given to have Max there at that moment. She looked down at her hands as if to ascertain that she was still herself. She never asked to be given the strange powers that she harbored, nor did she ever intend to use them to hurt anyone. But tonight, they hurt the one that mattered the most to her and that she could never forgive herself. Maybe Max had an idea on how to help her lose these powers for good, they clearly represented a danger to everyone around her.

She spotted something on the ground, a crumpled piece of paper from the looks of it. Picking it up, she realized it was a photograph and not just any. It was an old picture that was taken at Mt. Hood many years ago, back when Rachel still believed her dad was the best thing in the world. Her instincts demanded her to rip it to pieces, but she decided to keep it for now. She had done enough damage for one night.

She laid down on the improvised bed, which was little more than an old mattress with a blanket on it.

Her whole life, Rachel had always wished for people to admire her, whether for her beauty or her talents didn't matter, so long as they would feel better with her around. The thought that she could harm someone like this, terrified her deeply. Now, she wasn't so sure what the world might think of her, should this incident ever become common knowledge. She had destroyed nearly all photo evidence of her past life and while that hurt, it also felt liberating at the same time.

Outside she could feel the train coming by. The ground vibrated like it always had when this happened. Rachel was reminded of her suicide attempt.

"Not anymore, I have made my choice.", she said out loud to herself.

* * *

Her phone started buzzing like crazy, as her parents were blowing up her inbox with messages and attempted calls. She turned the phone off, for tonight she wanted to be as far away from the rest of the world as possible. With the train gone, the silence was now deafening, as her screams from earlier still echoed in her mind. Never in her whole life had she felt such utter hatred and disgust for her family before. As far as she was concerned, the blame didn't entirely lie with James, but also with Rose. How could she behave like such a doormat? Rose had never treated her badly, but she allowed James' lies to contaminate their life as a family. She may not have been her biological mother, but Rachel felt like Rose should have done more than to just put up with her husband's campaign of paranoia and deceit.

Then, there was Sera. In hindsight, Rachel wished she hadn't just run off after miraculously meeting her mother for the first time. She wanted to know more about her and her struggles. Perhaps together they could finally heal and resemble something one could call a family again, even if that would take a lot of time. She didn't seem at all like the monster that James had warned her about since the day she discovered his scheme.

Finally, there was Max, who took the brunt of Rachel's onslaught and paid the price for it. Despite the relatively short time that Max had been in Rachel's personal life, the bond between them felt stronger than anything Rachel ever had, but it had been tested tonight. When she had stepped into Max's patient room at the hospital, Rachel was willing to let herself be yelled at and accused and she would have willingly accepted that. Instead, Max showed her compassion, despite the fact that she just got subjected to Rachel's unstable powers. The image of Max being forcefully flung into the air and hitting the ground haunted her. If she and Max weren't so close, she would have preferred to just run away and disappear forever in shame.

"You see, we are not so different after all."

Rachel was startled by the unexpected voice she heard. The strangest thing was, it sounded like her own.

A literal mirror image of herself had appeared in front of her. They looked virtually identical, save for some minor differences. Rachel's own flannel was red, this copy of her wore blue. The other one did not have colored hair nor the boots she was wearing and the bullet necklace was not there either. They were the same otherwise, however, with the same blue earring and neither of them had their bracelet anymore. The other Rachel just stood there, with her back resting on the wall and her arms crossed, having watched her from the looks of it.

"What are you?", she asked her reflection.

"You know exactly who I am.", it answered.

"You are the other me, aren't you?"

"One way of putting it. I am the one that should have been."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?", Rachel asked her reflection in confusion.

"Chloe's little friend fucked around with time, is what happened. You only exist because she stumbled across a picture by freak accident."

"What is your point?"

"My point is, _I_ am the real Rachel Amber, you are just an echo, an imitation. Permitted to exist only because Max took pity on poor little you and throwing me to the wayside. You know what your life is? It's a fake!", the reflection stated.

"And you are dead, whereas I'm still alive. What have you got to say to that?"

"Doesn't change the fact that you aren't the real deal."

"Why?"

"Look at you! Hiding from the world in shame, while you have been given great power and you refuse to use it! You could get out of here, leave Arcadia Bay behind and achieve what I was meant to. To dazzle the world, have your admirers bow and kneel to you in devotion! You could break their hearts and will at your whim with all the fame that would come with it. I was meant to be great, not to cower on the floor crying over a little girl toy!"

"Don't you _dare_ speak about Max that way, you ripoff! She means more to me than you could ever understand!"

"Oh yes, because Max is _so_ great isn't she? Do you wanna know what I learned about her? She leaves people behind when they need her to the most. Chloe told me all about it. Max didn't give a shit, not for a second, that Chloe went through hell on earth in her absence. What makes you think she really cares about you? How do you know whether or not she will leave you behind one day and never talk to you again?"

"I know she cares, you don't know her like I do.", Rachel said with determination.

"Oh, yeah right, I'm sure you do. You have been with her for like what, slightly over half a year? And then you go ahead and marry her too? I've known Chloe for over two years and never even considered something so foolish and I doubt she ever did. I couldn't be so dumb if I tried.", the reflection said in a cold, mocking manner.

"You wouldn't understand, you don't know what it is like to truly love someone for who they are. This ring means more to me than anything else. Whereas you hand over your bracelet to some asshole who isn't below murder."

"As if you know what Frank was to me.", her reflection countered.

"I don't think I want to."

"That's right, hide behind your own dumb decisions and pretend to have the moral high ground like a self-righteous coward!"

Rachel had heard just about enough of this.

"You wanna talk about dumb decisions? _Really_ bitch? I've got your fucking number on that one! You cheated on Chloe! With a goddamn drug dealer of all people! The same guy who pointed a freaking gun at my face! What did you do that for? A quick escape from the worries in life with his drugs? Money? Power? And what did that amount to for you? Oh, that's right, your rotten corpse in this fucking junkyard!"

"Better be dead staying true to myself than be a toothless coward to refuses to acknowledge their potential. Chloe was special to me, believe it or not, but you clearly have made up your mind about me. At least I tried to live up to my potential, unlike you."

"You aren't me. You are a cheap imitation, that fell victim to its own ambitions. I should know, I used to be just like you! Max showed me that there is more to life than power and influence. You never learned that lesson and that is why you are dead and I am still alive."

"I never thought I'd be saying this to myself, but you are hella pathetic."

"If I am so pathetic, why am I the only one of us that's still alive?"

Rachel never got an answer to her question. She woke up and looked around. There was no one else with her, it was just a dream. Or was it? Rachel tried going back to sleep. In her mind, she was glad that she was different from this other Rachel, assuming that her image of her was anything to go by. She did not see her again when she eventually drifted off.

* * *

Max awoke in the morning, with her back feeling much better than the evening before. She looked around and found herself all alone. She wished Rachel was with her. Despite the pain she still felt, she was glad that she had stopped Rachel when she did. She still kinda felt like she went through a tumble dryer though.

The doctors permitted her to leave but prescribed lots of bedrest for the rest of the day. They handed her a doctor's note for Blackwell to excuse her absence at school for the day as well. She had to get home somehow first though.

She texted Rose and she agreed to come pick her up. Once she arrived, Max was cleared to leave the hospital.

Riding shotgun with Rose, Max's eyes were staring into the distance, wondering what Rachel might have been up to.

"I'm sorry about last night honey, I was afraid that this day might come at some point. I had just hoped you wouldn't have gotten caught up in it.", Rose said.

"Rose, why did you agree with this? I know it's not my place to judge, but it just feels wrong to me to lie to Rachel like this."

"Because my husband and I thought it was the right thing to do, though I admit I'm starting to wonder otherwise."

"I know your intentions were good, but in my experience, it is best to accept the truth for what it is and work through it, even if it hurts to know."

"Max, I admit that I should have done more, but it is too late."

"It is never too late Rose, not if you really love Rachel."

They spent the rest of the drive in silence.

* * *

Arriving at the Amber's house, Max felt uneasy.

Going inside, James was already waiting for her.

"Max, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"If you must.", he replied in resignation. She knew what he wanted.

They went into James' office, a place Max had never been to before. The walls were covered in law books and numerous awards. Max and James took a seat.

"I take it that Rachel has managed to contact her mother, based on what happened yesterday.", James said.

Max remained silent, staring him down.

"I take your silence as a yes. I don't blame you for not wanting to cooperate in this matter."

"It wasn't my fault, you know.", Max defended herself.

"Are you telling me that Rachel managed to find her mother all by herself?"

"She did, I had nothing to do with that. I never broke the promise I made to you. As a matter of fact, Rachel and I never spoke about looking for her mother at any time and I never brought it up or encouraged it. I had no clue what was going until I heard her doing a number on the living room."

"I appreciate your honesty and the fact that you didn't."

"It wasn't easy you know? I love Rachel and even though I technically didn't lie to her, it didn't make me feel any better that I had to pretend that I didn't have secret orders. She knows about that now, by the way, so expect her to react accordingly."

"You told her about our arrangement?"

"I saw no point in hiding it any longer, the truth was out. I simply could not keep my mouth shut anymore and wanted her to know that I harbor no more secrets other than that."

James remained silent for a moment, thinking about what Max just said.

"Well, I suppose it really doesn't matter anymore, considering how Rachel left us yesterday. Do you know if and when she is coming back?"

"She wants to move into my dorm room. I don't like to leave your home, but I find myself agreeing with her."

James let out an audible sigh.

"Well, I can't say this is a surprise. I guess I will overlook your involvement in this."

"With all due respect, James, I did all I could to keep Rachel from making a mistake much worse than what you witnessed, trust me on that."

"Very well, in that case, all I ask is that you take care of her. If her mother does anything, and I mean _anything_ to endanger her, I expect you to step up."

"I won't let anything bad happen to Rachel, I can promise you that, regardless of who it is that threatens her. However, you might want to consider an open communication policy with her if you ever want to win a semblance of her trust back."

"Your insight is appreciated, but ultimately it will be my call on what to do. What is your plan now? What are you going to do Max?", he asked.

Max really wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but she had endured enough drama and decided to remain diplomatic.

"I will be going back to my dorm room for the time being, like I said. We will see from there."

"I suppose we will."

* * *

After being allowed to leave, Max went and got her most important items from her room. She grabbed her clothes, some personal items and mementos and most importantly, Lisa, her beloved plant.

"Sorry Lisa, we gotta move again."

Max was all ready to go, just waiting on Rachel to get out of school to pick her up. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any further incidents once she got to the Amber's house. The waiting felt dreadful, she needed to know that Rachel was alright, although that seemed like an optimistic thought at best. Eventually, Max phone notified her of a message. Rachel was outside and ready to pick her up. In a way, Max was glad, that Rachel chose to stay in the car and not even risk running into her parents. On the other hand, she found that incredibly sad and all too telling as to what was going on in Rachel's mind.

She brought her stuff to the car and they drove off, en route to Blackwell and its dorms. When Max got into the car to sit next to Rachel, her expression was not one of happiness. It instead was plastered with guilt and pain.

"I'm glad you came.", Max said.

"Hey, Max. How are you feeling?"

Max could tell by Rachel's tone that she was suffering from emotional turmoil. She could not remember her ever acting to uneasy around her before.

"I'm better, still a bit sore across my back, but it will pass. I have a few bruises still, but nothing I couldn't stand."

"Ok, let's go to our dorm then."

The drive to the dorm was spent in awkward silence. Even as they entered Max's room, Rachel's spirits did not seem to brighten much. She sat down on the border of Max's bed and looked down on the floor. The fact that Rachel hasn't looked her in the eye once since she had picked her up did not escape Max.

"Hey, are you ok? You can talk to me, Rachel. I'm not angry."

Rachel closed her eyes.

"Max, I ugh..."

Rachel was never good at speaking about her problems, something that Max had learned over time.

"Take your time, I'm listening."

"Max, I feel deeply ashamed of what happened last night. Between you having to witness my violent meltdown and getting hurt, I'm not sure how you can still treat me like nothing happened."

"I'm not, I'm just not blaming you for it. You had to take in some truly horrifying news and your powers don't obey you like mine did for me once. I'm not mad at you, I feel incredibly sorry for you having gone through that."

"I still feel like I don't deserve your kindness... but thank you. I just wish I could lose this power somehow. I was hoping you might have an idea."

Max thought about that. The main problem was that neither of them knew exactly why Rachel was given these powers to begin with, so taking them away without knowing their origin sounded impossible. Max lost hers when the storm disappeared, at least that was her working theory.

"Rachel, I'm not sure if that is possible, especially since I have no idea how you received it to begin with. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's most certainly not your fault that I have it. I guess I must learn to live with it as my curse.", Rachel said in resignation.

"It doesn't make me love you any less, nor will I ever let it get in between us."

Rachel did not respond and instead gave Max a hug.

"Easy, I'm still sore all over."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, you didn't hurt me."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Actually, there might be. The doctors recommended I apply this ointment for a while."

Max showed Rachel a small tube containing a bruising ointment.

"Since I mostly hurt my back during my impact, I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with that, it's kinda hard for me to reach."

"I think that is the least I can do."

Max went ahead and took off her shirt and laid down on the bed. Her back was fully exposed now.

"That is a lot of bruises, I hope this doesn't hurt as bad as it looks.", Rachel pointed out.

"Like I said, I got lucky. That could have turned out way worse."

Rachel started to apply some of the ointment, gently rubbing it in.

"That actually feels really good.", Max said.

"How often do we need to do this?", Rachel asked.

"About twice a day until either the bruising is gone or until the tube is empty I suppose. You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all Max, I got you into this, so I will be doing my best to help you recover."

"Good, because I'm kinda enjoying this. I might ask you for a massage one day, that is once my back can deal with that again."

"It would be my pleasure, I'm kinda liking this myself."

Rachel continued the treatment until Max's entire back was done.

"Ok, I think I got every spot.", Rachel said upon finishing.

Max did not answer.

"Uh, Max?"

Upon closer inspection, Rachel noticed that Max had fallen asleep. Whatever she did must have felt more relaxing than she realized. She decided to let Max be for now. Once the ointment had fully seeped in and dried up, she put the blanket over Max's back to keep her from getting cold. With Max still sound asleep, Rachel gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

* * *

As quietly as she could, Rachel started unpacking their stuff. The room didn't exactly leave much space to work with, but it would have to do for the moment. She moved Lisa, the plant, next to Max's desk, making sure to water it too, but not too much, knowing how meticulous Max was about that.

Once everything was in place, Rachel took a look around the room. This was their new home now. It wasn't much, but it was theirs. Convincing Principal Wells took some effort, taking all her acting skills to accomplish.

Eventually, Max woke up again.

"Oh, you unpacked everything already?", she asked, looking around.

"I figured I'd do that, considering you were so out of it.", Rachel responded.

"That was nice of you, you didn't need to do that."

"Remember Max, you are on bed rest. Doctor's orders."

"Yours or the actual doctor?"

"Both."

"Alright Dr. Amber, I won't complain."

"Are you hungry yet?", Rachel inquired.

"Starving, to be honest."

"I will get you something from the cafeteria."

"That would be lovely."

"Sure, just take it easy and I will be right back."

Max was alone again. Rachel really took great care of her, something she appreciated. She would do the same in return without question. She dressed again and further observed the work Rachel had put in while she had been asleep.

* * *

Rachel returned, bringing more than just food with her though. In addition to their dinner, she also brought in a mail package.

"Apparently my parents dropped this off here after someone left it at their place. No clue who it's from.", Rachel said.

Max's curiosity was piqued, eating her dinner with impatience to find out what this secret package could be hiding.

"Let's see what this is.", Rachel said when they were done.

Opening the box revealed what a appeared to be a photo album. A letter was included within. Rachel opened it and gave it to Max. She read out loud.

"Dear Max and Rachel,

Our apologies for not contacting you sooner. Things have been kind of crazy here the last few months. Joyce had lost her job when the Pan Estates project was canceled due to that storm last year and things have been kind of tough ever since. We heard that not only did you two get engaged by also married, so we would like tell you our heartfelt congratulations! We know it isn't much, but we hope that this photo album will make a fine gift for you. If you ever feel like talking, you know how to reach us, our door is always open to you. May your union last forever.

William and Joyce Price"

"Aw, that is so sweet of them.", Rachel said with a smile. The first smile that Max had seen on her since yesterday morning.

Max picked up the photo album and opened it. A small note was written on its first page.

It read: "These are all the pictures of you and Chloe that we could find. We felt it was right for you to have these."

Max felt overwhelmed with different emotions. The album indeed contained numerous old pictures that were taken before Max had moved to Seattle in 2008. She felt tears running down her face.

"This is incredible, I can't believe they kept these!", she uttered. She was torn between happiness and loss at the same time. The last few pictures she remembered especially well, having taken them herself.

"I remember these ones! I took these right before I left on that last day. That was during our last pirate adventure. I thought I lost those for good!", Max said in relief.

Rachel had just watched Max's reactions and had remained mostly silent. She looked at a selfie picture that Max took with Chloe waving her hand at the camera in the background. They looked so happy together, Rachel couldn't help but feel envious.

"Max..."

"Yes?"

Rachel's face had turned to stone, her expression ridden with her guilt once again.

"You know what this means, right?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Max, if you wanted to, you could use these to get back your life, the life you were familiar with. You could have Chloe back too."

"Rachel..."

"I mean it, Max."

Max thought it over. These images were taken the same day William died, just like the one that got her into this situation, however, these were taken after William had left the house that day already. If she were to use any of them, literally nothing would change regarding his fate. She could merely return to an earlier point in time and be with Chloe again, however, doing so would inevitable change the timeline yet again once she caught up with the new present. She would risk losing her relationship with Rachel and cause who knows how many other unforeseen changes. Besides, Max wasn't entirely sure if she even could still travel through pictures even if she wanted to, given what had happened to her rewind powers.

Max closed the album shut.

"No."

She turned to face Rachel.

"Rachel, I won't trade you. I refuse."

"But why?"

Max lifted her hand to show her ring.

"Because this means something to me. I swore an oath and I intend to see it through until the end and through whatever comes after that."

"Despite what happened?"

"Yes, despite what happened. I never once believed that being married meant that everything is always going to be rosy. We will face our challenges, we will fight, we will disagree and we will face a whole lot of drama and yes, we may even hurt each other. But in the end, I love you. And that is all that matters."

"Oh, Max..."

Rachel had laid down on her side and started crying loud and soundly, being all curled up and quivering. Max got next to her and tried to comfort her by embracing her. She could only imagine how many conflicting emotions Rachel must have been going through. She did not let go.

Rachel never felt more grateful for Max being there for her. The other Rachel was most certainly wrong about her.

"Max, you really are my angel."


	20. Defiance

When Max awoke again in the morning, Rachel was still in her arms, clutching one of her hands with her own, while still sleeping. Watching Rachel sleep, Max thought about the events that occurred as of late. She hoped that now that Rachel had learned of her true parentage and all the secret that it entailed, that she could eventually move on from it. After all, things could only get better from here.

Eventually, Rachel awoke as well. Opening her eyes, she looked at Max with an expression of joy and relief.

"You are still here.", she said.

"Of course. I'm there for you, just like you always are for me.", Max replied.

"My guardian angel, what would I do without you?"

"Let's not find out, shall we?"

"Good point."

Max could tell that something seemed to have been on Rachel's mind. Instead of prying, she instead waited for Rachel to say something first.

"Max, I had a very strange experience the other night."

"Like what?"

"Remember that I spent the night at the junkyard? I had this strange dream, at least I think that's what it was. It's hard to explain."

"What did you see?"

"I saw... myself. Like another version of myself. We looked virtually the same and she spoke to me."

"Go on."

"She insisted that she was the real Rachel Amber, whatever that's supposed to mean. Told me I was an accidental "echo" that replaced her. I figured it was my imagination being wild, giving all my negative emotions towards my counterpart a shape. This sounds hella stupid now that I think about it."

"Did it feel like dream?", Max asked.

"I don't know, it felt like she was right there. I remember speaking to her in the same way as we are now, I was fully aware during all of it."

"Dreams can be very real sometimes."

"I know, but still I wonder if it was more than that though. What if there is another Rachel hidden in my mind?"

"I doubt that. There is only room for one of you in there."

"Oh, very funny Max."

"What I meant by that was that I cannot fathom your brain containing twice your greatness."

"Yeah, I suppose that is impossible.", she chuckled. "Still Max, this was kind of scary. The things she said... she claimed that I wasn't living up to my potential, said that you are holding me back from achieving what was supposed to be her destiny before you messed with history."

Max remained quiet upon hearing this. Where these Rachel's own thoughts too?

"She called me pathetic. Told me that I could not understand what either Chloe or Frank meant to her.", Rachel continued.

"What happened then?"

"I pointed out the very obvious fact that she cheated on Chloe with Frank and only did so for selfish reasons, only to get killed by that bastard."

"Rachel, I have no doubt that she went behind Chloe's back, but I'm not convinced that Frank was supposed to be the one who killed her."

"Seemed pretty obvious to me, that fucker almost shot me remember?"

"Vividly, but that was not the same Frank. This Damon guy... I didn't recognize him. Frank operated alone where I come from. Damon seemed like the ringleader of that whole thing, whatever it was."

"So what you are you saying? That your Frank was a gentle, misunderstood puppy that just wanted to play? Please."

"No, he certainly wasn't that. He was dangerous to a degree, but he was no cold-blooded killer."

"He threatened you enough for you pull a gun him. That's what you told me, Max."

"I know what I said, but you don't know why he did that. He lives in a dusty ass RV in poverty. Chloe owed him money."

"I'm sure a lot of people owe their dealer.", Rachel stated.

"Most people don't owe over 3,000 dollars, Rachel..."

"Holy shit, that much!?"

"Yeah, that much. Chloe had me steal money from Blackwell's handicapped-fund to get him off her back. Not exactly my proudest moment."

"I guess I know who to call if I need a partner in crime."

"As long as you'll be my partner in time."

Rachel raised an eyebrow in response.

"Really, Maxter?", Rachel replied, followed by a groan.

"Sorry, that's just a funny little thing Chloe said that day."

"Here I thought you were the pun expert. This other Chloe is starting to sound more and more interesting."

"You'd be surprised.", Max stated.

"So anyway, if Frank wasn't the cause of my demise... who was it then? Did I make enemies?"

"Blackwell might as well have been your personal fan club, the Vortex included."

"Flattering. But that doesn't give me much to go on."

Max remembered what happened to Kate at a Vortex Club party.

"Well, there is one suspect I can imagine."

"Who?", Rachel asked.

"Nathan Prescott."

"Nathan? Why would ever do anything to me? I know he's weird, but he's no killer."

"Your Nathan might be harmless but mine was... unhinged. I saw him shoot Chloe remember? I saved her life by intervening. If he packed heat, who knows what else he had been up to? Looking into Kate's situation led me to believe that he had drugged her at a party and filmed her against her will. Whatever happened to her traumatized her to the point of suicide. What if... what if Nathan did something to you too?"

"The thought makes me sick."

"Same."

Rachel seemed to contemplate something.

"Max, we're gonna find out."

"How?"

"We get into his room and see what we can find. Now that you told me this, I need to know he isn't gonna do something to me... or you for that matter. After class, let's see if he leaves school and then get into his room to see what he's hiding if anything."

"Guess we are partners in crime after all."

"Sounds like it was meant to be if you ask me."

* * *

They got up and grabbed their stuff for the shower room. However, one question still lingered on Max's mind.

"Rachel, earlier you said your counterpart told you that I hold you back, do you really feel that way? Please, be honest.", Max asked with a sad tone.

"No, Max, on the contrary. I wouldn't be alive without you and aside from that, I know how dangerous it is if I were to give into my temptations all the time. You keep me grounded, that's different from holding someone back. For instance, my family's home wouldn't be standing right now if it weren't for your intervention. They owe you more than they realize. Did you tell them what happened to you by the way?"

"They never even asked me about it, they were too concerned about you. I guess once they realized I only took superficial injuries, you mattered more."

"Figures. Did my dad beg for me to come home yet?", Rachel asked with spite.

"He asked if and when you come back."

"Yeah, never if it were up to me. That's been my answer once before and it seems to be be the case again."

"Rachel, we can't stay here forever."

"We can, for now, one day, we will leave this town behind."

"You still want to get out of here?"

"Now more than ever, Max. Once I'm done with Blackwell, there is nothing here that is worth staying for. Well, with the exception of you and my real mom that is."

"What do you think she will do?"

"Haven't got a clue. She mentioned that she moves a lot, we might be able to convince her to follow us to wherever it is we end up. That way, I at least have one family member left that I can count on."

"I admit, that I do feel somewhat lonely myself as of late, other than with you I mean. I'm referring to having others around.", Max said.

"Are you missing your old friends?"

"Yes, I miss Chloe every day. Even that goofball Warren would be nice to talk to again. Wow, I never thought I would say that. He never approached me since I came here, unlike the old Warren who stuck to me like flypaper."

"You know, Warren _is_ around. I mean sure, the guy is head-over-heels for Stella, but I'm sure he would let you talk to him."

"You would permit that?", Max asked, remembering Rachel's original reaction to Chloe.

"Max, listen to me."

Rachel put her hands on Max's arms and looked her in the eyes.

"I am sorry about what happened back then, but I want you to know that I'm over that, I've been over that for a long time. I helped you with Kate didn't I?"

"You did, but that went completely wrong."

"So what if it did? I never held that against you. If anything, I'm hoping you will be able to reconnect with some of the other people around here. You deserve that at the very least. If you want Warren as a friend, then that's fine with me. You don't need my permission to talk to people or hang out with them. It's called trusting each other. I know I had my difficulties with that in the past, but with everything that has happened and you still being here with me... well let's just say I'm not scared of you spreading your wings a bit. Friends are important too. We both know where the line is if you know what I mean."

"I do."

"See? Then I won't stop you from seeing Warren or literally anyone else. I would expect you to extend that same courtesy in return."

"Of course I would."

"Then it's all good."

Max appreciated Rachel's trust. She would never risk squandering it if she could help it. One would have to be very foolish to do so, after all, Rachel's wrath was quite literally a force to be reckoned with.

"After school, let's meet outside the entrance like we usually do. Then we will see where Nathan is and plan our little recon mission.", Rachel said.

"You mean break-in.", Max pointed out.

"Same shit, different name. Come on, let's hit the showers, I'm dying for one, I still reek of junkyard deluxe."

* * *

After showering and breakfast, both Max and Rachel commenced with their regular school routine. While on break, Max wanted to use the time she had to look for Warren. She took a guess that he would most likely be in the chemistry lab, which turned out to be true. He sat by himself, apparently pondering over a chemistry formula. When Max entered the classroom, he did not react. Only when she walked up to him, did he start taking notice. Max decided to open the conversation.

"Hey, Warren. How are you doing?"

He looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, you are Maxine right?"

"Max, never Maxine.", she corrected him.

"Ah ok. What can I do for you, Max?", he asked.

"I just wanted to chat, feels like forever that we did that."

"Uh, we never really have.", he pointed out.

"That's a shame, we should change that."

"Max, I know it should be obvious, but I'm kinda sorta with Stella."

"So? I'm with Rachel, that isn't stopping me from talking to you."

"Fair enough, does she mind?"

"I'm just looking to make a friend here, nothing more. She trusts me on that."

"Oh good, for a moment I thought you had something else in mind."

"Oh no, I'm not that direct."

"You sure? I remember you being pretty damn direct when you were still in the Vortex."

"What are you talking about?", she asked him.

"Oh nothing particular, just your general attitude. I don't wanna sound rude, but you kinda pushed people's buttons a lot to get your way. It took for Rachel to show up for that to stop."

Apparently, the previous Max was a naughtier version of herself than Max could have imagined. She would have to ask Rachel some questions about this later.

"I'm sorry if I upset you at any point, I'm no longer with the Vortex. As a matter of fact, they suck. I mean, quite literally suck ass.", Max stated.

"Now you are sounding like a normal person to me, that's a relief."

"If you knew me any better, you would reconsider that statement."

"Loving the blue hair, by the way, I always wanted to say that to you, it suits you."

"Thanks, I was encouraged to try it at some point and I kind of love it now."

"You make it look awesome."

"Warren, I know this is weird to ask, but since you seem to know more about me than I know about you, I was wondering if you could tell me how you got together with Stella.", Max asked.

"Well, this is awkward..."

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked that."

Where was that rewind when Max needed it?

"Actually, Max it's probably not for the reasons you were thinking, but ok, I will answer honestly. When you came to Blackwell I admit that I had a... crush on you."

"Oh."

Max felt flattered but hardly surprised.

"Yeah, exactly. I tried to approach you but before I knew it, you became part of the Vortex Club. So I forced myself to give you up, I guess. I really didn't want to have anything to do with those pretentious elitists, no offense. I heard too many controversial stories and things happening behind the scenes."

"None taken. Is that how you got with Stella?"

"At one point she asked me out to a movie night and it kinda went from there. Of course, later I found out that you were together with someone named Rachel, so it wouldn't have mattered if you were in the Vortex or not. I didn't know you were taken from the start."

"I see."

Awkward silence commenced. Max realized her break was about to be up.

"Tell you what Warren, I can give you my number if you ever wanna chat."

"Wow, you are like the first girl that ever asked me if I could have her number. That's crazy, but yeah, of course, I will give you mine too."

They exchanged their phone numbers. It turns out, Warren's number hadn't changed.

"Thanks, it was nice talking to you again.", Max said.

"Uh... again, we never talked before, but ok, you are welcome."

Max felt better having talked to Warren, in a strange way, with Warren being less intrusive than before, she felt a bit more comfortable around him now.

The remainder of her school day was uneventful, although Max found herself pondering a lot over what to turn in for the Everday Heroes contest. Where she came from, she never participated, having destroyed the selfie that she took that she meant to turn in. She doubted her own talent too much at the time, but now, she felt it was worth a shot. Now all she needed was the right photo. There was still plenty of time to do find one, but Max didn't want to forget about it either.

* * *

A the end of the school day, Rachel and Max met like they agreed to.

"Ok Max, I saw Nathan walk off with some of his Vortex buddies, I think the coast is clear. Do you wanna do this?", Rachel asked.

"Let's get this over with, but remember, I cannot rewind if we get busted. We got only one shot at this."

"Alright, let's get in there."

They entered the boys' dorm. Max did not feel comfortable at all. Even though the layout was the same as the girls' dorm, it was a whole lot messier, no big surprise there.

"Gah, I can't read this map at all! They wrote all over it!", Rachel said in frustration, pointing out the messy dorm map on the wall that had been properly vandalized with permanent markers.

"I got an idea that may just work.", Max said.

She messaged Warren and asked if he knew Nathan's room number, trying to phrase herself as natural and unsuspicious as possible. Thankfully, he knew it and told her without asking too many questions.

"Got it.", Max exclaimed.

"I see your old friend is already paying his dues.", Rachel commented.

"Warren somehow always ends up being my solution to an otherwise unsolvable problem."

"That's good, we need all the help we can get."

"Ok, his room is number 111."

"Then let's get in there and out before he comes back."

They found the room and tried the door, they were in luck, Nathan had left it unlocked. The room was dark and gloomy, with rather depressing artwork displayed on its walls. Nathan seemed to own a video store worth of movies, as he had a large shelf full of them as well as a very expensive looking TV. For a dorm room, this was pure and utter luxury. Although the disturbing nature of the displayed images and the pulled down window blinds gave it an eerie atmosphere that made Max very uncomfortable.

She got to work on his laptop while Rachel started having a look around the rest of the room.

Max sifted through a mix of emails, digital artwork and other files, looking for anything suspicious.

"Found his phone!", Rachel said, holding it up. She tried getting into it. "Ha, this will teach you for not using a passcode.", she murmured.

Nathan clearly did not expect anyone to go through his stuff.

"Max, there are some old messages on here that sound rather interesting.", Rachel said while going through Nathan's message history.

"He clearly bought his drugs from someone and we are talking a _lot_ of drugs, but I cannot make out their name. However, I noticed that they stopped talking about half a year ago."

"That's when Frank got shot.", Max pointed out.

"So that was him then? I knew it! Although it seems he's been trying to find other dealers, based on what I'm reading here. His success seems to be limited so far."

"Rachel, you better come look at this.", Max said with concern.

Rachel came over and looked at what Max found. There were many images of Rachel on the laptop, but they weren't photos. Instead, it appears that Nathan drew these by hand on his computer using a drawing tablet. There were dozens of them, showing Rachel in different poses, settings, and angles. Unlike the rest of Nathan's decor, however, they weren't dark or twisted, but rather bright and colorful, forming a very strong contrast to his usual taste, but Rachel as the undoubted center of each piece.

"That... is so fucking creepy.", Rachel said in discomfort.

"True, but they look great, I wish I could draw like that."

"I could care less about the quality here, these were made without my permission or consent.", Rachel fumed.

"Maybe he just likes you lot?", Max asked.

"The feeling is _not_ mutual at this point, I assure you.", Rachel said with determination.

"Do you want me to delete them?"

"No, leave them. Based on the age of some of these, if he intended to post them he could have done so by now. Best not to raise suspicion. I guess I will have to purge these from my memory now though."

After a thorough search of Nathan's files, they found no trace of an incident involving Kate or anyone else. It seemed like Nathan was somewhat obsessed with Rachel but otherwise innocent. There was no indication that he owned a handgun either.

"Let's leave, I've been in here long enough.", Rachel declared.

* * *

They left everything as they had found it and left the room, heading to the dorm exit. However, as they turned the corner towards the exit, they saw someone opening the door, it was Nathan.

"Hide!", Rachel whispered to Max, rushing to get out of sight.

"Rachel?! What are you doing in my dorm?", they heard Nathan call. Rachel didn't manage to get out of sight in time.

Max hid around the corner, with Nathan not having noticed her from the sound of it. Not knowing what else to do, she made a split-second decision and hid inside the room that was closest, hoping that no one was home. Entering it, she realized that it was Warren's room, as he was sitting at his desk, looking up in surprise as she shut the door behind her.

"Max? What are you..."

He didn't get to complete his sentence, as Max gestured him to be quiet. She then pressed her ear to the door to listen.

Outside in the corridor, Rachel found herself facing off with Nathan alone.

"Well, are you going to tell me what you are doing here?", he asked.

"I was just visiting a friend, that is all.", she responded.

"Like who?"

"Warren, he uh, wanted to show me something."

"Oh really? What would someone like you want with Warren?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"You deserve better, better than him and better than Max."

Nathan approached Rachel who was now backed up to the wall.

"What do you say we hang at my place for a while?", he asked, with a sinister sound in his voice.

"Get away from me, right now.", Rachel responded, her pulse quickening.

"I'm afraid I insist.", he responded, grabbing Rachel by her arm.

"You are going to regret this, Nathan!", Rachel shouted.

Max could not listen to this any longer and busted out of Warren's room to come to Rachel's aid. The last thing they needed was Rachel unleashing her power around other people.

"Take your damn hands off her, Prescott!", she yelled, storming towards him.

"Oh, you are here too, traitor? You shouldn't have left the Vortex, no more special privileges for your ass."

"Screw your Vortex and I said take your hands off her. _Now_!", Max threatened.

"Or what, are you gonna report me to the principal or something? Oh, I'm so scared!", he said sarcastically, knowing that Principal Wells could not do anything to him, thanks to his father's influence.

Rachel used the opportunity of Nathan being distracted and pushed him away from her, thus freeing herself, throwing him off-balance. Max saw her opportunity as well and charged into him, causing Nathan to land on his back, hitting the floor. She had no idea where her sudden strength came from but didn't feel like complaining. She planted her foot on Nathan's chest, pinning him to the ground. She remembered her confrontations with the other Nathan all too well, fueling her anger. Images flashed before her eyes, seeing Nathan harass herself, him attacking Warren who came to her help, the moment he shot Chloe dead right in front her and the sight of Kate Marsh about to kill herself over Nathan having drugged her.

"What the fuck? Let go of me bitch!", Nathan yelled, trying to wriggle free, but failed to do so, Max brought her foot down harder, causing Nathan to grunt in pain.

"No, _you_ listen to me now asshole! If I see you do as much as look at her funny again, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you won't remember you had one! You enjoy turning people's lives into a living hell, don't you? I'm gonna return that favor tenfold if I ever see you threaten anyone ever again! I'm sick and tired of you having your way with people! This shit ends here, do you understand me?!", Max yelled at Nathan, her voice echoing through the corridor.

Rachel stood there motionless, just watching the whole thing unfold, alongside Warren who had come out of his room to see what was going on.

"Fine! Just let go of me, I will never touch her again, I swear!", Nathan begged with wimpy voice.

Max pulled her foot off of him and let him get back up, but not without giving him one more kick to his sides.

"That one was for Chloe.", she said coldly.

Instead of retaliating, Nathan started walking off to his room, like a wounded predator that underestimated its prey, having to limp back to its cave.

"Who's the bitch now?", Max taunted him.

Warren and Rachel stared at her in complete disbelief and shock.

After catching her breath, Max returned her attention to Rachel.

"Are you ok?", Max asked her.

Rachel was still speechless. Instead of responding, she simply jumped Max with a hug. Warren remained standing there petrified like a gargoyle statue. Once Rachel had let go, she tried to find her words.

"Thank you, Max. That was... that was fucking amazing! You stared this guy down like he was nothing! What... what happened to you?", Rachel asked, still in disbelief of what she just witnessed.

"Rachel, I have seen this guy threaten too many people and get away with it, I refuse to yield to him any longer. I couldn't allow him to hurt you... or worse."

"That was almost scary, I can only imagine what he's done to you before. This wasn't that same Nathan though.", Rachel pointed out.

"That didn't seem to matter to me at that point. Anyone messes with you, they are gonna get it.", Max replied.

"Reminds of how I stood up for you against Kate. I guess my behavior is rubbing off on you. Remember last night though, I don't want you to become like that too.", Rachel said with concern.

"I won't, but I will not let anyone get their hands on you any longer if I can do something about it."

"Thanks, Max. That means a lot to me.", Rachel with an expression of gratitude.

They turned to Warren, who still stood right where he had been the whole time.

"Sorry about the mess.", Max said.

Warren laughed.

"Ok, Max, I wasn't so sure about this earlier when you told me you ditched the Vortex, but after _that_ I'm convinced! Finally, someone who puts these Prescott goons in their place!"

"Don't get used to it, I don't want to make a habit of that if I can help it.", Max said.

"Whatever you say, Mad Max."

"I'm gonna remember that one, how come I never thought of that?", Rachel wondered.

"Anyway Warren, we better jet. You have never seen us here, got it?", Max told him.

"This will be my secret to keep, you have my word on that. But I will have a hard time forgetting this awesome action!"

"Later Warren, take care."

* * *

They left the boys' dorm and went on their way back to their own.

"I didn't expect you to lay a smackdown on him like that, with your injury and all that.", Rachel said.

"I was so full of adrenaline I didn't feel it. Kinda starting to feel it again now though.", Max replied.

"Isn't time for another back treatment for you anyway?"

"Yeah, I think could use some relaxation after this. You up for it still?"

"It would be my pleasure... Mad Max!"


	21. Taking Flight

Much to Max and Rachel's relief, Nathan didn't bother them after the incident. It gave Max a certain degree of satisfaction, having put him in his place. Without having to worry about Nathan, they could finally focus on Max's full recovery and Rachel's immediate graduation. Due to Rachel's care, Max had fully recovered from her injuries in no time and she made ample sure to show Rachel her appreciation for it.

The prom that Blackwell hosted had everyone in great anticipation. It was no surprise that Rachel was declared prom queen, a title she was all too willing to carry. Her date for the dance was, of course, Max, an honor that once more led to her becoming the envy of everyone at Blackwell. At times, Max had a hard time believing how much her perception of Blackwell had changed since she came here. She was no longer the laughing stock of the likes of Victoria or Nathan, but instead, a well-respected student that people admired.

The day of Rachel's graduation wasn't quite what they had originally imagined though. The rift caused between her and her family made the atmosphere very uneasy. Even though James and Rose did attend, it was obvious that things were far from perfect. Not once did Rachel speak a word to them, other than a brief mention of them during her graduation speech. As a matter of fact, Max didn't even notice her doing as much as looking at them once. She hoped deep down that this divide wouldn't last forever, however, with Rachel having graduated and no longer being a student at Blackwell, the school no longer allowed her to stay in Max's room. She was allowed to visit, but that was as far as Principal Wells was willing to go in terms of leniency. This meant she was forced to move back in with her parents, which put her on edge.

Max, in order to not only comfort Rachel but also to ensure that she wouldn't suffer a repeat of her previous meltdown, moved back in along with her for the time being. Rachel kept herself busy, faced with all the free time in the world, having set up their trip to the Caribbean and the flight to Texas. It was all set to go.

* * *

The evening before their big trip, Rose had begged for everyone to attend dinner together, in order to ease the tension a bit, as she didn't want everyone to part in bitterness. She allowed Rachel to cook for the night, in hopes that this would lift her spirits a bit. Max sat at the dinner table and waited. Across from her sat Rose and James took his preferred seat at the end of the table like he usually did.

In order to break the silence, Max decided to speak up.

"This smells so good, I can't wait to see what she made.", Max said.

"It does, at times I wonder if she out-cooks me at this point.", Rose agreed.

Rachel brought everyone their meal. It was Spaghetti Carbonara, a pasta dish with a heavy cheese sauce and tiny chunks of ham.

"That looks awesome, Rachel. I can't wait to dig into that!", Max exclaimed.

Rachel mustered little more than a slight smile but remained quiet.

Deafening silence had hung over the table like a dense cloud. Max knew that Rachel held grudges, but was concerned that there might be more going on that she wasn't aware of.

"This is really good Rachel, outstanding.", Rose complemented her.

"Thanks.", she replied quietly, seemingly staring down into infinity.

Max gently laid her hand on Rachel's, in order to show her that she was there for her, but Rachel hardly reacted. Eventually, though, she started eating, although it took a while.

"The Caribbean is a beautiful place, you will love it. I wouldn't mind going myself there one day.", James said, breaking his silence.

With Rachel remaining quiet, Max responded instead.

"It looks stunning from what I have researched, I can't wait to see the places where we will go on shore."

"Where is it that you plan to go ashore?", he asked.

"First, there is Cozumel, then the Grand Cayman Islands and finally Roatán.", Max replied.

"I take it you guys have been properly vaccinated? You can never be too careful."

"Yeah, we've already taken care of everything we need. At this point, it's just a question of getting to the ship."

"I'm glad you get to do this, it's not something everyone can afford or experience.", Rose stated.

"Oh, I'm extremely grateful, I plan on savoring every single moment of it."

"What about you Rachel, what are you looking forward to the most?", Rose asked her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?", she asked, having only now come out of her trance-like state.

"I asked if there was anything you are particularly looking forward to on your cruise?", Rose repeated her question.

"Probably the grandeur of it all. To have an entire ship to yourself and all these exotic places to see. That is what I'm looking forward to.", Rachel replied.

"These ships are like floating cities, any service or amenity you can imagine within walking distance, it's quite a miracle of engineering.", James said.

"That does sound nice.", Rachel said, who avoided making eye contact with James.

* * *

After dinner, Max wished to speak with Rachel to find if there was something else going on that she was unaware of. While they double and triple checked whether or not they packed everything they needed, Max asked her question.

"Hey Rachel, is there something I should know about?"

"Like what?"

"I know you weren't exactly looking forward to eating with your parents at the same table, but I feel like there is something else going on. What is really bothering you?"

Rachel looked down again as if she was ashamed of something.

"Max... I'm not sure if I want to talk about this.", she replied.

"Rachel, you once told me that you hate being left in the dark and that I could trust you with anything. I still believe that, but I want you to know that the same goes the other way. If there really is something wrong, then please tell me, you know I would never judge you, not after what we've been through together."

"You are right, Max, those were my words. Fine, I will tell you what's going on."

"Go on, I'm listening."

"Max... I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Life? Destiny? Call it what you want. Ever since I spoke with my other me back in that junkyard, I've been debating back and forth about what _my_ goal is supposed to be. The truth is, I don't know."

"You mean like finding a job or something?", Max inquired.

"Yes, that for instance. I'm torn between wanting to be a stage actress or a model. Had someone asked me a year ago or so, I would have said model without a doubt. But, ever since that last drama class at Blackwell, I'm not so sure anymore, as I'm missing that feeling of being on stage greatly. With me no longer being there, I feel like I'm lacking purpose. What do you think?", she asked, looking Max in the eyes.

"Rachel, we are young, we got all the time in the world to figure this out."

"I suppose, but still, it just always seems to hang over my head, you know?"

"We can worry all about that when the time comes. Who knows? Maybe you will find inspiration where we are going?", Max suggested.

"As always, you are right, Max. I will try not to dwell on it too much for now and enjoy this journey with you.", Rachel said smiling.

They embraced and then commenced packing their stuff for the flight in the morning. They would have to wake early and take the car to the airport in Portland. Rose volunteered to drop them off at the airport, so they wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous cost of parking a car for over a week there.

* * *

They found hardly any sleep, being way too excited about their trip. Max had never flown before, so this was going to be a new experience altogether.

When Rose drove them at 3:00 AM in the morning, they caught a little bit of sleep while in the car together. Getting to the airport, they got their bags out and commenced inside, getting in line to get their ticket's printed so they could check in their bags. The place was crawling with people from all kinds of countries and she could hear them speak in many different languages, some sounding familiar, some completely alien. It really felt like the whole world came together in places like this.

With the tickets for both the flight to and from Texas, they turned in their bags and then got in line for the security checkpoint. This is where they had to bid goodbye to Rose, as she could not follow them past this point. Rachel actually had tears in their eyes at this moment and in a way, Max was glad to see that. It meant that not all hope for healing and reconciliation was lost.

The security screening was a bit of a hassle and made Max rather nervous, but it was over before she knew it. It was a good thing Rachel decided to leave her knives at home, as there was no way those would have gone through without being confiscated, although her bullet necklace prompted some need of explaining, much to her frustration.

They made their way to their gate and waited to be let on the plane. They arrived so early, they had to wait a good hour, sitting mostly by themselves during this time.

"Are you nervous?", Rachel asked Max.

"A bit, I have never been on a plane before.", she admitted.

"I have, once. It's been a long time, but I can remember it fairly well. Just imagine you are getting on a really, really big bus."

"A big bus flying 10,000 feet in the air?"

"Try not to think about it, it seriously helps."

After finally getting on the plane, the whole thing looked and felt so much smaller than Max expected. She felt like walking through a tin can, rather than a bus. On the flight to Galveston, Max got the window seat, with Rachel next to her.

The flight attendants went through a safety demonstration, such as how to use a life jacket. Max knew this was just the standard procedure, but it didn't exactly trigger any comfortable thoughts in her mind. After getting buckled up, the plane started slowly moving towards its departure runway. Once it faced the right direction, the plane came to a complete stop. She had a feeling what was about to happen and grabbed hold of Rachel's hand, holding on tight.

"No worries, Maxter, literally thousands of people do this every day.", Rachel said calmly.

"I know, but that doesn't mean _I'm_ used to it!"

Suddenly, Max could hear the engines outside powering up and the plane started accelerating along the runway. Everything started shaking and then, the plane left the ground. Max's stomach felt like it floated upwards for a second and a rush of adrenaline flooded her body with excitement. She could see the ground rapidly moving away from under them, within seconds, buildings that looked like giants suddenly seemed so much smaller. The cars on the roads looked like toys that moved by themselves and Max felt like a child looking down at the contents of its playpen.

Then they breached the clouds and for a while, she could see nothing but white mist outside. Rachel remained relaxed like she'd done this a million times already, which Max envied, still holding on to her. Once they were above the clouds, Max gasped. The world below looked like a giant network of fields, roads, and cities, each organized like on a blueprint. It was most certainly a unique perspective. It was too bad she couldn't use her camera in here, those shots would have been extraordinary. The view above was what appeared to be nothing but a blue-domed ceiling with seemingly no end and without visible stars, the clouds around resembling something one could call a landscape. She literally felt like she was in between worlds.

"Wow, that is amazing.", she said to herself in awe.

"Told you that you would enjoy this.", Rachel said.

However, once the awe and wonder had faded, boredom set in. Despite the fact they were flying at several hundred miles per hour, at this altitude, it felt like they were just standing still, suspended for all eternity among the clouds. It also didn't help that Max felt somewhat claustrophobic, having mere inches worth of room in front of her and virtually none to the sides. She tried sleeping to pass the time, but sleep would not come, despite her feeling dead tired still. The subtle but ever-present vibrations of the plane, plus the cramped space just gave her no feeling of comfort. Rachel had it easier, she had fallen asleep with no problem. For now, it seemed as though Max had to endure this flight to the end. At the very least, they had a small computer screen provided that had movies and music, which kept her distracted. The breakfast provided on board was somewhat tasteless, but Max didn't feel like complaining, it was better than starving at any rate. The trip took a little over four hours, but to her, it had felt like twelve.

Upon landing, they got out, which took a while due to the cramped corridors full people reaching for their carry-on luggage and they then went to get their bags again. Having solid ground under her feet had never felt better to Max and the sizzling Texas heat welcomed her. It must have have been almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit, way warmer than Arcadia Bay got most of the year. Reunited with their luggage, they got on a shuttle bus that would take them straight to the harbor, where their ship was waiting for them.

* * *

Galveston was a nice looking place, not entirely unlike Arcadia Bay, but way warmer and bigger. This place alone would make a fine vacation spot. As they approached the harbor, the ship came in sight, which had Max feeling in awe all over again. It was utterly giant, like a very long Skyscraper, it's shiny white exterior bathed in the bright Texas sunlight. Rachel had also remained in awe for a moment.

"This is it, Max. That is what I was dreaming about ever since you first suggested this.", Rachel said with a big smile.

"Let's mark this occasion.", Max said.

"How?"

"Wait until we get off, you will see."

Once off the shuttle, Max could not resist the opportunity and pulled out her camera from her backpack, taking a selfie of them and the ship's name in the background, which read " _Tempest of the Seas"_. They would always remember this moment, as their best adventure yet was about to begin.


	22. Setting Sail

The check-in process took a while, as thousands of other passengers waited to be let on the ship. The whole thing was not unlike the Portland airport they had been through earlier. But once it was all said and done, they got their room cards and their luggage had been passed on to be brought to the ship by service personnel. They now could finally make their way on board.

Walking hand in hand up the gangway, Max and Rachel tried to take in all the details of the giant ship in front of them. Lifeboats the size of city buses, thousands of round windows and hundreds of balconies dotted the side of the ship. Once on board, they felt like they had walked into another world. They had arrived in what almost looked like a hotel lobby at first, but it turned out that it was actually a section in between the ship's casino and an art gallery. The ambient lighting and gold colored decor made it look like a 5-star hotel. Max could spot a stairwell that led to the upper as well as lower decks.

"Wow, would you look at that? We are on a freaking cruise ship!", Rachel exclaimed in amazement, looking around her and taking in all the sights.

"Tell me about it, this is incredible.", Max replied.

They looked at each other.

"What do you wanna do first?", Rachel asked.

"We should probably check our cabin first and see if our bags made it.", Max said.

"Good point, that's on deck 3, which one is this?"

"There's bound to be info on that somewhere, let's head in that direction.", Max said, pointing past the art gallery.

Passing through the gallery, Max had a hard time not getting caught up looking at everything. She may not have been a painter, but art was art. Then she spotted the elevators.

"Oh, here we go."

Max spotted the directory. I was an interactive computer display that showed her where they were and what deck they were on.

"Ok, so we gotta go down one deck.", she said.

"Let's take the stairs, I'm not that lazy yet, considering it's only one deck down.", Rachel stated.

"Fine, after you, your highness."

* * *

They found the deck their cabin was on and after some searching, they had found it, with their luggage already there waiting for them. Upon entering the room, Max immediately took a liking to it. The bed was on the opposite side of the room against the wall, with a small couch and a glass table in front of it. To her left, she spotted a closet and a mirror fit for putting on makeup, whereas to the right was the bathroom.

"Dibs on the bed!", Rachel called out, throwing herself on it to test it out.

"Oh, and I get to do the bags by myself?", Max asked slightly irritated.

"I will help you in a second, I just wanted to try this... and it feels freaking awesome! I'm gonna sleep so well after all of this traveling I tell you."

"I will be trying that myself in a bit, once these bags are unpacked."

They put up all of the items that they needed on a daily basis, leaving mostly their clothes packed for the moment. It was now Max's turn to give the bed a test.

"Wow, this is good, it feels like I could fall asleep instantly.", she said while relishing the comfort.

Rachel joined her.

"I can think of other fun activities on here too.", she said with anticipation.

"Figures _that_ would come to your mind first, you are so obvious.", Max teased.

"I didn't even say what I meant yet!", Rachel argued.

"No need, I know how you think by now."

"Cheater!"

"Cougar."

"Look, just because I turned 20 a little while ago doesn't give you the right to call me that all the time!"

"I suggest you get used to it and besides, I think you secretly enjoy that for some twisted reason."

"Did you trade your rewind for mind reading at some point, Max?"

"Life needs a little mystery, Rachel."

Rachel's face went red, whether it was from embarrassment or frustration, Max couldn't tell.

"Fine, I give you this one.", she said with resignation.

"Losers don't talk, remember?"

"Oh Max, what have I done to you?"

Right as she was wondering what Rachel meant exactly with that least remark, an announcement was made over the speaker system. The captain alerted all passengers to proceed to their muster stations for a mandatory safety drill.

"Ugh, might as well get that over with.", Rachel said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will get to relax soon enough, I'm sure this won't take too long.", Max assumed.

* * *

They made their way to their muster station and participated in the safety drill, which was mostly just instructions on what do in case of an emergency and a quick demonstration on how life jackets work, which Max already knew. They also got to hear the ships' emergency horn, which was so loud, a sleeping deaf person could have heard it. Her ears rang for a good minute from the noise. If a disaster were to strike, this place is where they would gather to get on a lifeboat.

After everyone dispersed, they could now finally focus on their own goals.

"I don't know about you, Max, but I'm hungry.", Rachel pointed out.

"I find myself agreeing with that, that airplane food was neither plentiful nor any good really."

They checked out the directory and found that there was a pizza parlor on the main promenade and they decided to head there.

Getting off the elevator, they beheld the promenade, the heart of the ship. Max felt like she was staring down a busy street in a city, rather than the inside of a ship. There were stores with all kinds of items, from souvenirs to fine jewelry as well as bars and a guest services area. The glass-covered ceiling was way up high, making her truly feel like she just went downtown in Portland or Seattle.

"This... is absolutely magnificent!", she uttered, finding her eyes catching ever more interesting details, such as various balconies high up that featured colorful and at times weird statues of animals.

"I love it, Max. Once again, thank you so much for suggesting that we do this.", Rachel said while in awe herself.

"I guess I did well on that one."

"You sure as hell did. Now, let's find that pizza, I'm starving."

The best part about the pizza place they found was that it was handing out pizza for absolutely free by the slice. After sitting down in a booth, they devoured their pizzas with gusto.

"Dude, free and unlimited pizza. What else could one possibly wish for?", Rachel mused.

"Free and unlimited days on the ship?", Max asked with a chuckle.

"Got me there."

Then Max remembered Rachel's earlier remark.

"Hey, Rachel?"

"Yeah?

"What did you mean earlier when you said something about what you had done to me?"

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, that."

"Well, I have a confession to make."

"I'm all ears."

"I am incredibly proud of you, Max."

The way Rachel said that sounded like she truly meant it and it also mattered to her a great deal.

"Why is that? Don't get me wrong, I'm honored you think that way, but I'm not entirely sure why.", Max admitted.

"Because, Maxine Amber, if you excuse me using your full name just this once, you are awesome. I still remember that moment you ran into me, with that panicked look on your face, not knowing whether or not I was really who I appeared to be. You would hardly look at me and I could tell your confidence level was rather low. I remember you second-guessing yourself a lot back then, but over time, you have truly blossomed. I look at you now and you are still the same girl that I fell in love with but so much more confident and assertive. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you have come a really long way since then and I'm very happy for you and damn proud to call you my wife."

Max took a moment to process this. Coming from Rachel, that was up there as probably the greatest compliment anyone has ever given her in a long time, if ever. She knew Rachel was hard to impress, so for her to be humble like this was something else.

"It makes me happy to hear that from you, Rachel. Being around you is so inspiring, I guess I couldn't help but develop that way. I hope that I was able to help you in some way too."

"Max, you do, believe it or not. I know I tend to hide my feelings sometimes, perhaps even from you. But before I met you, I would have never been able to have conversations like this.", Rachel said.

"What kind of conversations are we talking about?", Max inquired.

"I'm referring to talking about my feelings. I have a working theory on why the other Rachel and Chloe didn't work out, other than the possibility that the other me simply didn't value loyalty. I can think of many reasons, remembering how I was back then, especially with you out of the picture to guide me. Something tells me, my other me would not be so open about herself and hide her real feelings and intentions behind a veil if you know what I mean. With you, I was able to lower my defenses and confront my feelings instead of letting them pile up to a boiling point, at which time I would make huge mistakes, like the one you prevented me from making. I know, because I have made them before as well. I have lost friends in the past because I always pretended everything was fine when it wasn't, but I wasn't willing nor able to talk about it like we do. I don't open up as easily as some people do. I always liked diving into other people's minds, not vice-versa."

What Rachel said made a surprising amount of sense. From what Max could learn about Chloe it's that she never dealt well with others not being straight up honest with her. If the other Rachel wasn't upfront with her, that most certainly had the potential for disaster.

"Everyone lies, no exceptions.", Max quoted.

"What?", Rachel asked.

"It's something Chloe wrote on her wall in big bold letters. I think that in hindsight, that was more than just a random phrase, but instead, something that troubled her. Hell, I lied to her when I told her I would stay in touch but stopping to do so shortly after, I still feel like an asshole for that."

"Max, I find myself agreeing that it was a terrible thing to do, it would have broken my heart if you had done that to me to be quite honest. But I can tell you regret that deeply and as far as I'm concerned, you more than made up for that since, karma-wise."

"I wonder if Chloe would have agreed with you on that. I'm not sure if she had forgiven me already, I kinda avoided asking her that question."

"I don't blame you, I'm not so sure if I could have been that brave myself in your position."

Max looked out the window towards the horizon.

"Dude, we are moving already!", she exclaimed.

Sure enough, the ship had left Galveston. The movement of the ship on the open sea was so subtle, they didn't notice it at all.

"I wanna go to the front of the ship for a good view. Care to join me, my love?", Rachel asked.

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

Heading to the front, they were caught in a very windy breeze that was however pleasantly warm. Galveston was still barely visible in the distance behind them and flocks of seagulls were circling the open sea. They weren't the only passengers looking for a good view.

"Max, I wanna do it."

"Do what?"

"You know, the Titanic thing?"

"I'm sure _no one else_ ever thought of doing that before.", Max said with sarcasm.

"Come on, you know you want to!"

"Ok, but I want a picture of that if we really do it."

Max approached and managed to convince a fellow passenger to take a picture of them once they were in position. They went as far to the tip of the ship as they were allowed to go.

"Ok, Max, now hold on to me.", Rachel said smiling.

Max did just so, followed by Rachel reaching out with her arms like a bird about to take flight, aping the iconic scene from the movie, with the wind blowing straight in their faces now.

"I'm the queen of the world!", Rachel called.

"But that wasn't part of that scene!", Max pointed out.

"I don't think I care right now, this feels too great!"

Rachel was right, the amazing view was one of a kind.

After a moment, they went back and got Max's camera and the new photo, thanking the passenger who took it. It turned out really well.

"I want to add this to my wall, do I have your permission?", Rachel asked.

"Duh, of course."

"Thanks, this one is most definitely a keeper!"

* * *

They went back inside the ship and checked the time. It was now 4:00 PM.

"We still got plenty of time before dinner, where do we go next?", Max asked.

Rachel took a look at the directory again.

"They got an arcade up on deck 12, I'm game if you are.", she said.

"Insert groan here."

"What can I say? I like games, doesn't matter what kind."

They took the elevator up to deck 12. Upon entering the arcade, they spotted several arcade machines as well as an air hockey table.

"Oh yeah, now _this_ is a game I can get behind.", Rachel said while checking out the table.

"These do cost money, no big surprise.", Max said.

"Good thing I'm not quarterless."

"Good thing _I'm_ so tolerant of your puns."

"Should have known what you got into when you said "yes" to me."

"Oh, I knew, make no mistake."

Rachel took a calculating look at the table and then at Max.

"Care for a wager, my dear?", Rachel challenged her.

"A wager?"

"Yup. The winner of the match gets to decide our post-dinner evening activity."

"Fair enough, but don't think you are going to win that easily."

"First to get seven points wins. The game is on!"

Going into the match, Rachel managed to strike an early three-point lead against Max. However, as Max got used to the game, she got better and better, eventually matching Rachel's score at six points. One more for either of them would win the game.

The final point wouldn't be scored easily though, as they both gave their best at keeping the other from scoring while waiting for an opening. Eventually, Rachel saw her chance and hit the puck with full force, however, Max telegraphed her movement, intercepted the puck at the last second and knocked it back, hitting Rachel's goal.

"You... you actually beat me!", Rachel said in surprise. "How often have you played this before, Maxter?"

"Uh, never to be honest. Its super fun though, I admit."

"That was your _first_ game?! I played this my whole life! You are one fast learner."

"I gotta say, that makes me proud of my victory then."

"You should be, this game is all about reaction time and predicting your opponent's move. You totally read me like an open book on that last puck, I could tell!"

"That was a good game."

"Yes indeed. And of course, with that, you earned the right of choosing what we do tonight."

"Don't worry, I will find something we both enjoy."

* * *

They spent the next few hours checking various stores along the promenade. Rachel had to exercise severe restraint looking at the jewelry though.

"I love these diamonds.", she said while admiring a diamond necklace.

"Don't forget to admire the price tag too.", Max whispered in her ear.

The price tag was several thousand dollars.

"Nevermind, although I'm sure its worth it.", Rachel said, putting it down.

"You already got a priceless necklace right there.", Max pointed out to her.

"And you accuse me of tasteless puns."

"Why, what did I say?"

" _Priceless_? Really now, Maxter?

Max actually had not noticed the obvious pun.

"Oh my god, I think Chloe would kill me for that."

"I will remember this one the next time you complain about my love for wordplay."

Going back to their cabin, they went over the next day's event planner to find things to do. The ship would be at sea the next day, while on the way to Cozumel, their first stop along the journey. Eventually, they felt it was time for dinner.

"Where do we eat?", Rachel asked.

"Our key cards say that we are supposed to eat at the dining room on deck 3. Apparently whenever we want to as well, so long as we don't miss the window of opportunity.", Max explained.

"Any dress code?"

"It's casual tonight, but tomorrow is formal from the looks of it."

"Good thing we packed our dresses from the prom then, or else we would be in trouble."

* * *

Leaving their cabin, they went to the dining room, which already had a queue of people waiting in line. Once they were let in, Max's jaw dropped to the floor.

The dining room was actually just one of three with the two others located on the decks above. They beheld a huge dining hall, with winding and elegant wooden stairwells, ornate gold colored decorations, fancy wooden paneling on the walls, a beautifully patterned carpet, framed artwork on display wherever one peered and more dining tables than she could count. From the ceiling dangled several very large chandeliers, which had what seemed like dozens upon dozens of diamonds hanging from them. They must have been worth a crazy amount of money, more than Max could fathom. The sea was visible behind the large windows to the far left and right side of the room, with this deck being right above sea level.

Following their waiter to a table, they sat down.

"Good evening, my name is Sergio and I will be your waiter for this evening. Which one of you is Max and which one is Rachel?"

Evidently, he knew who was coming.

"I'm Rachel, she is Max."

Very well! Can I get you ladies started on any drinks?"

"Just water for me.", Max said.

"Chocolate milk for me.", Rachel replied.

"Very well, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the menu. My recommendation tonight is the crab cake appetizer and the lobster tail for the main course."

They looked over their menus after Sergio had moved on.

"Rachel, can I say something?"

"Always, Max."

"I feel so out of place in here, like I'm not worthy of this kind of service."

"A dinner fit for queens."

"Like you."

"And you as well, Max."

Rachel's eyes had a certain spark to them. She loved this setting, that much was for sure.

They both did end up ordering crabcake appetizers as well as pasta dishes for their main course.

"This crabcake is the bomb.", Max said while still working on it.

"Poor Arcadia Bay can't compare.", Rachel agreed.

The pasta was just as good. Max could not remember the last time she had a fancy dinner like this. In fact, this may be the best one she ever had. Now, it was time for dessert.

"They have something called "Chocolate Sensation", I gotta try that.", Rachel said while looking at the dessert menu.

"If that's half as good as it sounds, I'm joining in on that."

As it turned out, it was a chocolate mousse covered with ganache.

"If the crabcake was a bomb, then this is the nuke!", Max exclaimed in pleasant surprise of having tasted the dessert. It was hands-down the most indulgent thing she had ever eaten. "Dude, they are gonna have to roll us off the ship by the end of the week!", she said when they had finished.

"Worth it. I can go on a diet for a while, as long as I get to enjoy something this good!", Rachel said.

Max just loved the ambiance of this place. The lighting was dark enough to be romantic, but the noise level was too high to be truly intimate.

"Hey, Rachel. Do you remember our outing during your wedding night?", she asked.

The memory made Rachel chuckle a bit.

"I do, that went completely wrong, my goodness. Why are you asking?"

"Well, I was thinking, let's see if we can find a more romantic place either on here or somewhere in Arcadia Bay when we get back. I know it's super late, but I still want a quiet candlelight dinner, with just you and me."

"That... sounds great to me. Yes, please!"

"But for now, I gotta admit this is nice too."

After leaving the dining room, they now the rest of the evening to themselves.

"Well then, where have you decided to take me to?", Rachel asked her, reminding Max of her prize.

"It's too bad we missed the sundown, I would want to do that tomorrow, maybe if we eat a little earlier next time."

"Agreed."

"For now though, I would love to check out the hot tubs."

Rachel's face lit up visibly.

"Oh yes, after all this walking around and traveling, that is just what I need. Good idea!"

* * *

Going to their cabin, they found that their closet actually had a number of bathrobes, which was handy, because they didn't bring any of their own. Slipping into their bathing gear, Max realized she had actually never gone into the water with Rachel before. Donning their robes, they went up to the pool deck. The view of the stars was amazing, just like Max had imagined. Eventually, she wanted to go for a swim in the big pool as well.

Once they got to one of the hot tubs, which was mostly unoccupied, they got towels and took off their robes and got into the water. To Max, it felt utterly liberating, as she could feel every pore of her skin appreciating the warmth. Rachel also seemed very happy with herself on top of looking utterly stunning. They went ahead and claimed one of the corners of the small pool for themselves.

"Wow, this thing is literally going over the edge.", Max said, seeing that the pool was going over the side of the ship, with reinforced glass windows and ceiling separating them from the outside. Looking down over the edge of the pool, Max could see the ocean far below.

"That is hella awesome, I'm loving this view.", Rachel said.

"Excuse me, but did you say "hella"? Where you from?"

One of the other bathers, an elderly lady, overheard their conversation and decided to join in.

"We are from Oregon. Arcadia Bay to be exact.", Rachel replied.

"Oregon? You came a long way then!", the lady said.

"We did, but this trip was a long time coming, we've been planning this for months.", Max chimed in.

"Oh? What's the occasion?"

They raised their hands, revealing their rings.

"It's our honeymoon, even if somewhat belated.", Rachel answered proudly.

"Oh dear! Congratulations! I take it's your first cruise?", the lady asked.

"Yup, first ever.", Rachel responded.

"Well, it is time I get back to my husband, you two be sure to enjoy yourselves!", she said with a smile before getting out.

They were now all alone in their pool.

"Don't you wish everyone was so tolerant and accepting?", Rachel asked.

"You mean of people like us? Yeah, it would be nice. She was so sweet about it like it didn't matter.", Max said.

"I wish everyone was like that. By the way, do you care for a laugh?"

"Always up for one."

"Oregon has passed a law just a couple of weeks ago, legalizing same-sex marriage."

Max's face went deadpan.

"Are you cereal?!"

"I sure am."

"So... we could have theoretically just waited a couple of months and we wouldn't have needed to go all the way to Seattle?"

"Exactly. But, before you say anything, I want you to know that I do not at all regret agreeing with you back then about this. I loved seeing Seattle and I'm grateful that I got to know your parents."

Rachel rested her head on her hands, staring at the dark horizon.

"Max, I feel silly for admitting this, but I can't hide this any longer."

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I feel jealousy, and you know how much I hate that feeling and what it can lead to."

"Jealousy? What are you jealous of?"

"I love your parents, Max and they are great in-laws. I'm just jealous that I cannot say the same about my own. My dad... well you know all about that and my real mom was gone for most of my life. Rose isn't my mom, even if I had accepted her in that role. When I saw you having a good time with your parents back then, that kinda hurt."

"I'm sorry, Rachel, that was never my intention.", Max said, laying her arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you just had more luck than me when it comes to your parentage I suppose. I know your dad isn't blood to me, but at this point, I feel closer to him than to my real father."

Max wasn't really surprised by this revelation.

"Rachel, I actually had a hunch that you felt that way."

"But you never said anything."

"I didn't want to rub it in, but I want you to know that my family is your family now, same goes the other way. When I married you, I accepted your family as mine as well."

"Thanks, Max, that's a relief."

"My parents love you, Rachel, don't you ever doubt that."

They comforted each other for a few moments longer before Rachel decided to head back out of the pool.

"I think I better get out, I can feel my muscles becoming a bit _too_ relaxed now."

Rachel was right. As soon she got out, Max could tell that moving around felt somewhat difficult now and she could have dropped dead asleep right where she was.

* * *

The went back to their cabin, seven decks below.

"Dude, I don't think I've ever been this tired.", Max said.

"You just wanna go to bed?"

"Honestly? Yeah."

"Fine with me."

They went and got ready for bed. After having laid down, Max knew there was no way she could get back up again if she wanted to, her body simply had enough for the day.

"You were right earlier, about what I was thinking.", Rachel said with a smile to Max.

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, the thing is... I think I'm actually too tired now.", she said with a laugh.

"Me too, I still enjoyed this a great deal though."

"Same here! And the best thing is? We only just got started."

Rachel reached over to Max, kissing her goodnight.


	23. Sea Shanties

The morning came and Max's phone alarm woke them both on time. Rachel felt like she must have slept a good ten hours, however, despite that, she really didn't feel like jumping out of bed just yet. She looked over at Max and she was just as drowsy as she was.

"That was the best sleep I had in a long time. How about you Max?", she asked.

"I feel like I slept more than I should have but feel like I didn't get enough. Does that make any sense?"

"Not really, but I'm sure a hearty breakfast will fix that in no time. You might wanna get some coffee while you are at it."

"I don't care for coffee, I don't like the idea of being dependent on a drink just to open my eyes in the morning.", Max said while stretching her arms.

"Funny, you used to guzzle that stuff like an 18-wheeler truck going through gasoline once upon a time."

"Well, in that case, I don't miss it then."

"By the way Max, tonight is formal night. You know what that means."

"Strict dress code? I think we can handle that."

In Rachel's mind, she already saw Max in her knockout of a green dress that she last wore during their prom and she wondered if Max was imagining the same thing vice-versa.

After getting up, Rachel felt herself feeling sick to her stomach out of the sudden.

"Ugh, I don't know if it's something I ate last night, but I'm not doing so hot, how about you?", she asked Max.

"Same here, it wasn't a problem until I stood up. Oh god."

Rachel put two and two together, it was not the food that was to blame.

"Max, can you get the medicine bag over there?", she said gesturing at the bag sitting on the table next to Max.

"Here.", Max handed it over.

Rachel went through the bag and found what she was looking for.

"Take one of these with some water. Gosh, am I glad I remembered to pack these!"

They both took their sea-sickness pills. While the effect wasn't immediate, after a little while their nausea subsided again.

"Well, at least I know I'm not pregnant now.", Max stated.

"In that case, I would have to ask you some rather _uncomfortable questions_ , my dear.", Rachel said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, good point. Besides would we even want kids at all, like ever?"

Rachel was stumped for a moment, she wasn't expecting Max to ask that out of the blue like that.

"Uh, _do_ we?", she asked in return.

They looked at each other. Evidently, Max assumed Rachel had made up her mind about that already.

"I... I don't know, I hadn't really thought about that, to be honest.", Max said.

"Personally, I did think about it, but it wasn't conclusive either."

"They wouldn't be truly our own children.", Max said, looking at the floor.

"Is that a problem for you? I mean, you did know this going into this right? I mean how couldn't you? It's basic biology, Max."

"I'm not upset and I knew this from the start, but it still kind of bums me out though. Is that weird?"

"I don't think so, something tells me we aren't the first couple confronted with that fact. Of course... we could always adopt, for example.", Rachel pointed out.

"I guess that would be good deed at least, but I'm not in a hurry Rachel, I hope you understand that. I love you, I really do, but this seems a bit scary right now."

"I'm fine either way, Max and no, I'm not in a hurry either. If we change our minds or come to a personal epiphany one day, then that's another thing, but until then, I'm more than content with what we have. I'm just grateful to be here with you right now."

"Same, we earned a break I think."

"Yeah, no phones, no internet, no parents and most importantly, no school for you."

"Don't they have wifi on this thing?", Max asked.

"Oh they do, but they charge accordingly for it, seeing how its the only wifi network for literally hundreds of miles around. We aren't poor but we aren't made out of money either. Besides, I like the idea of shutting out the rest of the world for a while. There is so much to do and see here, I really don't want to end up wasting my time on my phone that I could play with literally any other time."

"Fair enough and yeah I have to agree with that. I don't get my nausea though, this wasn't a problem yesterday.", Max said.

"Yesterday the sea was calmer, I can tell that the ship is rocking a bit more now.", Rachel stated.

"You can?"

"Oh yes, can't you?

"Not really."

"It's ever so subtle, I can feel it in my stomach. Speaking of which, that one is feeling rather empty by now, so let's get started before we miss the good seats."

* * *

After going through their morning routine, they went to the dining room, the same one they ate at the night before. The elevators were crowded with people, apparently, everyone had the same idea this morning and tried to beat the rush, with no success.

After waiting a while to be let in, they got a table by the windows.

"Max, can we switch seats?", Rachel asked.

"Sure, why though?"

"I don't think I can stand staring at the waves like this, makes my nausea come right back."

They went ahead and switched, luckily Max was just fine with the view.

For breakfast, they went ahead with croissants while waiting for the main course. Max ordered an Egg's Benedict, just like Rachel had after it was recommended to them.

"I dare you to make breakfast this good.", Max challenged Rachel, enjoying her newest food discovery.

"I can give it a shot. Are you bored of my Italian creations?"

"Not so much bored, but just wanting to see you try to work your magic on something else. You are really good at making our meals, so I would love to see what else you can come up with."

"Fair enough, I will look a few things up, although I doubt I can compete with this."

"It's the thought that counts.", Max said.

* * *

Having enjoyed their breakfast, it was time to settle on what to do for the day. Going over the interactive menu screen, they had a look at what was happening on the ship.

"See anything interesting?", Max asked, looking at the options.

Rachel did spot a few things to her liking, but one, in particular, drew her interest.

"Karaoke at a bar? That sounds like fun.", she said.

"One problem with that Rachel, its adults only and we aren't quite 21 yet, no matter how much we might feel that way."

"Max, I will be damned if I don't at least try to get into that, I mean what's the worst they are gonna do? Have us walk the plank?"

Max's expression suddenly turned grim and sad upon hearing this. Was she really that worried about possibly getting told to leave a bar? This didn't seem to make sense to Rachel.

"Fine, if you really want to we can try, but don't blame me if we get kicked out.", Max ended up saying after a moment of silence.

"I won't, but I really would love to give that a shot is all."

"Rachel, that gig won't happen until like 8 PM, so what do you wanna do before then?"

"Care for a swim in the pool?"

"Maybe later, I feel like digesting my food first."

"Ok, how about we check out the minigolf course then?"

"That sounds good to me."

They took the elevator up to deck 13.

"That's funny.", Max said after getting off.

"What is?"

"Deck 13. You don't notice anything off about that?"

"Are you superstitious Max?

"Not really, but I thought that was a taboo or something?"

"There is no 13th floor in hotels, but I guess on ships that's fair game."

"Kinda odd if you ask me, I mean this is more or less a hotel with engines strapped to it if you think about it."

The golf course was a bit bigger than Rachel expected. It was like a little obstacle course with miniature buildings, vehicles and various animal statues, all arranged to make hitting the holes challenging.

"Before we get into this, how often have you played mini golf?", Rachel asked.

"Never.", Max replied.

"Not much of a game person?"

"I like games, but I guess I prefer the video game kind. This still looks fun to me though. Why did you ask me that anyway?"

"Because I'm not about to lose to you again even if you are a pro and wanted to know whether or not I should hold back a bit if you are new."

"Wow. Just wow."

"What?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have an ego Rachel?"

"I've been told, you should know, you were among those who told me you goofball."

"That was a rhetorical question Rachel."

"And you got a rhetorical answer."

"There, you are doing _again_!"

" _What_ am I doing again?", Rachel said with a grin.

"Driving me nuts with your choice of words is what!"

"I just don't want you to get used to being too much like me and win all the time, after all, we can't have that now can we?"

"I kicked your ass in air hockey, princess."

"Damn right I'm your princess! As for yesterday, that was a lucky streak that's gonna come to an end right now."

"I'm gonna remember that tonight.", Max said, trying to sound threatening.

"Oh, I can't wait.", Rachel said giggling.

Rachel knew that Max loved this sort of teasing, she also knew that Max just didn't want to admit that out of pride. A pride she didn't use to have.

As they played their way through the course, which they had all to themselves, it was a tight head-to-head all the way to the final hole. Their par count was identical at this point and it was Rachel's turn first.

She swung her stick and hit her ball, sending it rolling towards the final hole. To her dismay, the ball stopped moving mere millimeters before going into the hole.

"Oh, come on! You had one job!", she yelled at the ball in frustration.

"Close, but no cigar Rachel! You are mine now!", Max exclaimed in anticipation of her immediate victory. All it would have taken was to hit her ball just right. In her mind, Rachel was already accepting her defeat.

Max projected the perfect trajectory for her ball and waited for the wind to die down. As she was swinging, out of nowhere, a loud booming noise made both of them jump in surprise. The ship's horn was not far from where the golf course was situated and it was blaring so loud it made the deck vibrate ever so slightly.

Due to the sudden sound making her twitch, Max had made a mistake and hit her ball the wrong way. Instead of going straight for the hole, it went off-course, instead now hitting Rachel's ball, nudging it into the hole.

Rachel was laughing hard and could not contain herself.

"Thanks for the assist Max! I couldn't have done it better myself!", she said, while still holding a hand to her mouth to subdue her laughter. She felt herself tearing up from it.

"You have got be freaking kidding me! That one doesn't count!", Max argued in frustration.

"Oh hella yes it does, there are no do-overs in this game my dear."

"So that means..."

"That means you just handed me the win on a silver platter, which I of course _graciously_ accept. What a noble gift indeed.", Rachel said while bowing to Max.

Max's eyes narrowed in fury.

"You are evil. Pure, unadulterated evil! I'm gonna get you for that!", Max yelled, now running towards Rachel.

They chased each other through the course like cat and mouse. Rachel kept peering behind her to see where Max was and was able to keep ahead. However, eventually, she noticed that Max was no longer behind her.

Confused, she stopped and looked around and could not see her anywhere. For a moment she wondered if she had upset Max, and hoped that this wasn't the case. She walked through the course to the end, walking past a miniature model of a lighthouse while doing so.

"Gotcha!"

Max had jumped her from behind, having hidden behind the tall lighthouse model. Before Rachel had any chance to react, Max had grabbed her with both arms, turned her around, pulled her close to her and gave her a rather forceful kiss that lasted only a mere moment. Even though she didn't say it with words, Rachel's eyes betrayed the fact that she enjoyed that greatly, considering it was meant to be Max's way of getting back at her. She wondered if Max noticed this.

"That's what you get, you snake in the grass.", Max said.

"Although I admit defeat in the chase, I still won the game."

"I will get you next time and no ship horn in the world is gonna change that!", Max declared.

"I should get you angry more often.", Rachel said.

"Why?"

"Because I like the way you kiss when you are, it's got a certain oomph to it", Rachel said with a wink.

"There really is no true winning against you, is there?"

"You won my heart, Max. Is that not enough for you?", Rachel said in an overly dramatic fashion.

"You know what? I'll take it."

"That was fun though, I might challenge you to another round at some point."

"Another chase or another round of golf?", Max asked.

"We will see, won't we?"

"I guess we will."

"Well, Max, I'm feeling rather toasty from being out here in the sun, are you up for the pool yet?"

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

They went to their cabin to change into their swimming gear and robes again and continued to make their way to the pool on deck 11. The pool area was fairly crowded.

Rachel went into the water first.

"This is colder than I expected, but damn does it feel nice!", she said, waiting for Max to come in.

Max went down the first step and submerged her feet.

"Wowser, that _is_ cold!"

"I warned you!"

Max took her sweet time getting in, clearly not believing in the quick and painless approach that Rachel preferred.

"Hurry up, Maxter, don't make me splash you!"

"If you do that, you are sleeping on the floor tonight!"

"Oh really?"

Knowing that Max didn't mean what she said, Rachel splashed water in her direction, getting her wet all over. Max literally froze in place.

"That was not cool!"

"Could have fooled me, based on your reaction just now."

Max's face went stone cold and she gave Rachel a glare.

"Start swimming.", she said and then went all the way into the water going after Rachel. The chase was on yet again. Rachel retreated to the deepest end of the pool and when she saw Max catching up with her and went diving to the bottom.

As it turned out, Max knew how to dive as well and followed her without issue. They engaged in a friendly wrestling match underwater and Max was winning, claiming her victory once she got a hold of Rachel's sides which she proceeded to tickle. Rachel was forced to signal her surrender and went back up for air.

"Got you again!", Max said with a satisfied smile.

"There is no getting away from you it seems, I had no idea you could dive.", Rachel said.

"And I had no idea you would be so instigating today. You know I get you back every time, yet you keep teasing me."

"Guilty as charged."

"But why?"

"Because it's fun?"

"Sure, but that isn't the only reason. I noticed you doing this too often for it just to be that. What is your real reason?"

"I can't tell you that, not with all these people around to listen in."

"Fine, I will ask again later... you fiend."

"Hey! I'm no fiend!"

"You laugh and giggle like one."

They swam around for a little while, which felt great. In the water, Rachel felt entirely free, as if she could go anywhere she wanted. Of course, that was merely a perception and far from the truth.

A little while later, she realized something.

"Uh, Max? Did you bring any towels?"

"No? You didn't say anything about towels."

"Oh well, we will dry fast enough in this heat. Good thing we used sunscreen."

* * *

After they got out of the pool again, they had laid down on some lounge chairs on the deck above, with the Caribbean sun shining down on them.

"This feels great, just lying here with no care in the world.", Rachel said.

"Makes a change doesn't it?", Max agreed.

As a matter of fact, Rachel felt so relaxed, she had to try her hardest not to fall asleep. Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention.

"Well hello there, you are looking mighty fine."

They both turned to face whoever it was that just approached them. They beheld a young man with a platter holding drinks in his hand. Something about this felt awfully familiar to Rachel.

"Uh, hi?", Max said.

"Care for a drink, my lady?", he said, offering a drink to her.

Then it hit Rachel, this was something she prophesied a long time ago!

Max was caught completely off guard but seemed to regain her composure back very quickly. She actually took the drink, which was odd considering Rachel thought that Max hated alcohol with a burning passion. Did she miss something? From the looks of it, Max was contemplating a choice.

"You should really be more careful about who you approach.", she heard Max say next.

Then, she splashed the drink all over the young man's surprised face.

"First of all, I'm happily married to this here wife of mine, second of all I don't ever drink and third of all you just tried to pass alcohol on to a minor. How about that?"

Embarrassed and humiliated, the young man turned and walked away with his head held low in shame. Rachel couldn't contain her giggling.

"And I was right! He hit on you instead!", she exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Remember Max? Over half a year ago? When you first proposed this whole endeavor, I told you that something like this would happen. You insisted a guy would hit on me, remember?"

"Wow, you are right."

"And you splashed his drink all over him too! I told you that was something I would do! I can't believe you actually did that, I wish I could have filmed this."

"Are you clairvoyant now?"

"No, that is a skill I actually do not possess I'm afraid."

"Rachel?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Let's go back here this evening when the sun goes down. I don't wanna miss that and besides, you told me that that's something you wanted to do back then."

"Deal, I was just about to suggest that myself."

* * *

They went back their cabin and dressed again.

"Where do we eat lunch at?", Rachel asked.

"I would suggest the buffet. I mean I love the dining room, but that takes an awful lot of time."

"Yeah, we haven't checked that out yet, so that's fine by me.", Max responded.

Making their way to the buffet area, they found themselves once again overwhelmed by what they found. The buffet area was downright huge, with a long pathway that started on one side and circled back to the other, with tables and chairs arranged along the way. Everywhere were windows allowing one to see all around. After some searching, they found a good table to sit at.

"I don't want anyone to take this table, so I guess we should take turns getting food.", Max proposed.

"Good call, I will wait for you first.", Rachel said.

"Be right back."

Rachel found herself sitting by herself now. Looking around, she noticed that all of the crew came from a wide variety of countries. Some were American, some Chinese, Spanish, Norwegian and German as well as countless others. She wouldn't be surprised if the crew contained members from virtually all countries in the world.

Max returned with a plate of food.

"Dude, there is so much to pick from, it's insane!", she said.

"I'm gonna check this out for myself then, back in a moment."

Rachel went down the main path that everyone else was following, noticing that the buffet was divided into categories. They literally had anything imaginable on here, from indulgent desserts to deep fried goodness. She could most certainly forget about not gaining weight on this trip at this point, so instead, she tried her best to create a balanced meal and then returned to her table to rejoin Max. She noticed that Max had not touched her food yet.

"Aren't you hungry?", she asked Max.

"I am, but I didn't want to start without you."

"How gracious of you.", Rachel replied smiling.

After they finished eating, Max took a look at the horizon, on which no land was in sight. She never felt so far away from Arcadia Bay before, which was most certainly true as well. She wondered how everyone back home was doing while she and Rachel were out here. Her attention was brought back when Rachel asked her a question.

"Hey Max, I saw they have a card room on the ship, I'm curious what that is about."

"Sounds interesting, let's go explore."

* * *

It turned out that the card room was just one deck down.

Entering, it resembled a nice and spacious living room, with board games and decks of cards available to play.

"I wanna teach you something.", Rachel said.

"A game?"

"Yup and this one is one my recent discoveries that I think you will like."

"What is it called?"

"It's called "Egyptian Rat Screw", or to be more exact, a simplified version of it, which I figured is best since you are new to it."

"That sounds... weird."

"No worries, it is super fun."

Rachel placed a deck of regular playing cards in front of them and shuffled it. After that, she divided the stack into two separate decks.

"You and I both take one of these."

Max picked her deck.

"Now, here's what's going to happen. You must never look at the cards you have, there is no hand in this like in most card games."

"Ok, no peeking, got it."

"The goal is to win all of your opponent's cards. If you run out, you lose, at least that's how it works with just two players."

"How do I get your cards?"

"I'm glad you asked. We take turns putting down the top cards from our decks, revealing them on the table like so..."

To demonstrate, Rachel placed her top on the table, it was Eight of Diamonds.

"Now you do the same. Place your top card on this one."

Max put her card down, it was a Queen of Hearts.

"Oh, that's good, well for you anyway.", Rachel said.

"Why?"

"Face cards are the ones that allow you to take your opponent's cards. Unless I get a face card as well, you win these cards. Let's see what happens."

Rachel revealed her next card, it was Four of Spades.

"And you just won three cards, Max."

"That's easy enough."

"Oh, it get's better. There's a slapping rule."

"A slapping rule?"

"Yup. I'm gonna keep those simple for now and only use two of them. If at any time two cards of the same kind are on top of each other like say two diamond cards or only have one different card in between them, like say two diamonds with a heart in the middle, you can slap in and grab the whole stack just like that. Of course, I'm allowed to do the same, so it's all about reaction time and reflexes."

"That sounds fun.", Max said.

They proceeded to play a round. Naturally, Rachel dominated early on due to her experience in spotting slapping opportunities, but Max caught on quick, just like Rachel expected her to at this point. It seemed Max had a talent for learning games quickly.

At one point, they had accrued a sizable stack of cards that none of them were able to claim yet, but the huge pile was a treasure for whoever could place a winning face card or slap in first. When Max placed a card that created a pair, they both jammed their hands down in a split-second reaction, trying to lay their hands on the pile first to claim it.

"Ouch!", they both yelled in pain.

"Dude, your ring hit me like brass knuckles, that hurt!", Max complained.

"I could say the same about your dagger-like nails!", Rachel exclaimed, shaking her hand.

"Ok, no more rings for this game.", Max said taking her ring off.

"I find myself agreeing with that big time."

Rachel took off her's as well. Her hand felt strangely naked without it.

"Well, the stack is yours I believe.", Max said.

Rachel picked up the pile and added the cards to her own. This massive haul pretty much cemented her victory which came in short order.

"At least that makes one game you haven't beaten me in.", she said.

"How did you get so fast? At some point, it felt like you knew exactly when to slap right away.", Max asked.

"Truth be told, this is about more than just being quick, it also massively helps if you can remember the order of your cards as well as your opponent's. That way, you can predict when you can slap without having to see the cards first."

"I don't think my brain can handle that yet."

"Don't sweat it, it took me a lot of practice to get to this point."

"This was a lot of fun, but we gotta remember to leave the jewelry off from now on.", Max pointed out.

"Agreed."

"Know anything else we can play?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I brought a game from home that we haven't gotten around to trying yet. Let me get it from our cabin."

"Sure, I will get us something to drink and meet you back here."

"Alright."

Rachel got up and headed to the elevators, which took a while to arrive. Eventually, she managed to get down to deck 3 and to their cabin. Searching through her luggage, she found what she was looking for and headed back up. When she arrived, Max had already brought some water for them to drink.

"What have you got there?", she asked.

"This my dear is "Dominion", a game all about deck building.", Rachel answered.

"I think I may have heard that name before, but never saw or played it."

"This one is a bit more complicated, but once you understand it you may just get addicted to it."

"So what's the goal in this one?"

"You basically buy enough victory point cards and that's it. Once enough of those are gone, we tally a score and see who wins. The tricky part is how to get there, and there are many strategies in this game to try. You can try to make money fast to buy victory points cards, you can sabotage your opponent's deck or flat-out steal money for yourself, among many other approaches."

"You are on."

Due to Rachel's experience in this game, she played circles around Max, who was only about to grasps the basics by the time the game ended in Rachel's favor.

"Rachel, you are a freaking card wizard! You played like six cards or more every turn, how do you do that?", Max asked in disbelief.

"The key to my strategy is to keep drawing cards, to keep gaining action cards to play more cards while not clogging the deck with situational cards."

"I saw that your turns felt like they never ended."

"Welcome to Dominion!", Rachel said with a chuckle.

"I'm gonna have to do some serious research on this one, but I admit it's fun, probably more so once I get better at it and not spend my time reading every card just to figure out what it does."

Max checked the time.

"Dude, it's 3:30 PM. I think we should get ready for formal night so we don't miss the sundown later."

"Thanks for letting me know, Dominion is the sort of game you can spend untold hours on and not notice it."

* * *

They went back to their room and proceeded getting showered and dressed for formal night, meaning that they had to get out the dresses that they last wore for their prom. Rachel also spent some time in front of the mirror applying makeup and eyeshadow.

"Are you sure you don't want to put on some makeup?", Rachel asked Max.

"I was never big on that, to be honest.", she said.

"I would even volunteer to put it on for you if that helps."

"Ok, why not? Show me how it's done but don't overkill it."

Rachel proceeded to apply a small amount on Max's face, making sure not to overdo it, as per Max's wishes. She did so expertly, clearly having spent a lot of time in front of a mirror throughout her life.

"Eyeshadow?", Rachel asked.

"Go for it."

"With gusto."

Moments later, her work was done.

"You look terrific, Max!"

"Wowser, this feels so odd.", Max said, admiring herself in the mirror.

"In a good way right?"

"Yeah, I just hardly recognize myself is all."

"That's because you aren't used to this."

"You look breathtaking as well Rachel, I mean it."

"I humbly accept your compliment."

Rachel admired herself for a moment. She quite liked what she saw, her crimson dress complimenting the red streaks of hair that she has been keeping up with ever since she and Max agreed to keep their hair dyed. The bullet necklace would have to stay behind though, as it didn't mix well with this at all. She hoped that Chloe could forgive this just once.

Once ready, they went to the dining room. Rachel couldn't remember ever seeing so many fancy dresses and suits in her life before and she couldn't help but notice that many eyes were drawn to her once she stood in line with Max, who was wearing her emerald dress, which Rachel adored. To say their colorful appearance made them stick out among the crowd was an understatement.

Once at their table, Sergio, the same waiter as the night before, was already standing by to serve them.

"Good evening Rachel, good evening Max, what would you like to drink tonight?"

"Water here.", Max said.

"Chocolate milk, please.", Rachel said.

"Same as last night I see? Very well, that will be right out for you. Tonight's recommendation is the marinated chicken breast."

He handed them their menus and walked off.

"Did you notice, Max? He remembered both our names and our drink orders. How do they do that with thousands of people on this ship every week?"

"Maybe in a similar way to how you can remember the exact position of cards in your deck all the time?"

"Fair enough."

Rachel reviewed the menu and had a hard time finding an appetizer that agreed with her, the selection had changed from the night before.

"No crabcake, meh.", she stated in disappointment.

"I was looking for that too, it was too good not to have again.", Max agreed.

Sergio had returned to take their orders.

"I think I'm gonna skip the appetizer and head straight into the main course tonight. I will have the chicken breast.", Rachel said.

"Very well, what can I get for you, Max?", he asked.

"I'll get the Caesar salad and the chicken breast as well."

With Sergio gone again, Rachel saw Max looking around.

"Something wrong, Max?"

"Remember how I said I felt out of place last night?"

"Yeah."

"It's even worse now. I feel like I walked into a millionaire's club or something."

"I can relate, this is super fancy no matter how you look at it. But you know what? I kinda like it."

Their food came and it was just as good as they hoped, if not better. With great expectation, Rachel went over the dessert menu.

"Yes, there it is!", she exclaimed.

"See something you like?", Max inquired.

"Chocolate Sensation baby!"

Just like before, the dessert was everything Rachel would ever want out of one, making sure to pace herself this time to enjoy it. It seemed Max did the same.

* * *

With dinner out of the way, they headed up to the pool deck again, to take in the setting sun. They made it just in time, lying down on the lounge chairs next to each other and watched the sunset. The sky was painted in a mixture of red and purple and Max made sure to bring her camera to take these amazing shots.

"That is the most beautiful sky I have ever seen in my life.", she said.

"Like something a master painter would create.", Rachel mused.

"I never wanna leave here... well, at least not any time soon.", Max said.

"Unfortunately, our stay is limited, I could certainly see myself being here for a long time before I would ever get bored."

"One more reason to enjoy every moment."

Max held on to Rachel's hand, with the red glow of the sun enveloping Rachel's face.

"I love you, Rachel."

Rachel had to try not to cry from sheer joy.

"I love you too, Max."

Still holding on to each other, they watched the sun disappear behind the horizon, as darkness filled the sky. Even though the temperature did drop a bit, it was still comfortably warm.

"I wish Chloe could have been here for this.", Max said with a sad tone.

"I'm sure she would have loved it.", Rachel said, trying to sound comforting.

"She always wanted to be a pirate when we were kids and sail the open sea with absolutely no regard for rules. This trip would have made her very happy, it's just not fair."

"It makes _me_ happy if that helps."

"It does, I'm glad we got the escape you always wanted at least."

"Who knows Max? Maybe in some other universe, another Max made this very same trip with her? I mean it's all possible right?"

"A comforting thought, even if it's just wishful thinking."

"I don't know Max, after witnessing you warp time, seeing double moons and monster tornadoes appear out of nowhere, I kinda redefined what I consider possible."

"Not to mention your dream where you were arguing with yourself from another timeline."

"Yeah, that too."

"Did that ever happen again by the way?"

"No, it hasn't. Maybe it was because I was at the junkyard when it happened?"

"Could be, that is where she was buried after all."

"One of these days I'm gonna pay my other me another visit."

"What will that accomplish?"

"I don't know, but I just feel like I have to."

Daylight had now completely faded away and the surrounding ocean appeared as dark as ink.

"Max, I believe it is time for us to head to the bar."

"The karaoke thing? I almost forgot."

* * *

Together, they made their way to the promenade, which was buzzing with activity at this point. The air was full of chatter and the sound of hundreds of people walking about but eventually, they overheard music playing, signaling that they were close.

"There it is, the "Sandbar".", Rachel said.

"How creative, sounds like something you would come up with. Ok, let's try this, I kinda do want to hear you sing anyway.", Max said.

"Come on, let's head in."

They made their way inside, luckily, no one carded them, although Rachel wasn't going to order any drinks anyway. She was only here for one reason and there was a lot of people around to hear it.

A music station was set up, with a microphone, speakers and some kind of computer that would play the music. A crew member stood next to it, conducting the event. Rachel and Max stood as close as possible.

"Alright, who want's to sing the next song? Any brave souls out there?", the crew member called out.

Rachel ever so slowly started backing up, leaving Max right in front of everyone else, without her noticing.

"The lady in green!"

"Wait, what?!", Max exclaimed in surprise, turning around to Rachel. "You set me up!"

"You will nail it, I'm sure.", Rachel said with a wide grin.

"Easy for you to say you snake!"

Rachel was almost expecting Max to back down, but then she noticed her giving a defiant look and taking to the stage instead. Rachel's plan worked out perfectly and she sat down on a barstool as close as possible to the stage.

"What's your name?", the announcer asked her.

"Max."

"Alright, Max what are you going to sing for us tonight?"

Rachel noticed Max giving her a look before answering.

"I will sing "Till the World Stops Turning" by Kaleb Jones.", Max declared her choice.

Rachel may not have heard the song before, but the title already sparked excitement in her. As Max started singing, Rachel realized that this was a very emotional piece with little more than a subtle piano accompanying Max's voice. The chatter in the bar was silenced very quickly, as everyone was drawn in by Max's beautiful song. The whole time she sang, Max kept her eyes on her, not looking away once, as if the rest of the audience didn't exist. Rachel realized that she just more or less declared her love for her in front of everyone else. When it was over, the audience applauded and Rachel could not hold back her tears anymore. She gave Max a hug once she was off the stage, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd.

"My god Max, that was... I don't even know what to say.", Rachel uttered, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I love you too, Rachel."

At this point, the whole bar was clapping.

"Your turn now.", Max said with a smile.

"And what is your name?", the announcer asked her.

"Rachel."

"And what will be your song for us?"

"I'm going with "Born Depressed" by Drill Queen."

Max had sat down and eagerly awaited Rachel's performance. She still couldn't believe she had the courage to go through her own song, but she felt great as a result.

Once Rachel started singing, she realized that she could sing well, extremely well. In absolutely no time, she not only had the eyes of everyone glued to her, but eventually everyone clapped along to the song. Over time, Max noticed that the passing people outside the bar would stop to listen to Rachel singing. After only minutes, it felt like the entire promenade was watching her. The song itself was a perfect fit for Rachel as it is, but she truly made it her own. After the song ended, everyone erupted into thunderous applause.

She could hear everyone yelling "Encore! Encore!"

"You guys want another one?", Rachel spoke into the microphone, addressing her growing audience.

"Yes!", they all yelled in unison.

Rachel gave the conductor a look.

"The crowd has spoken!", she said.

"Ok, you get another turn, what song do we get to hear next?"

"I think I will go with "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry."

"You what?", Max said out loud, but no one heard her.

Rachel commenced her number and kept giving Max glances throughout. Knowing that Rachel couldn't hear her, she hoped that she could at least read her lips.

"You are _so_ dead.", she said.

Evidently, Rachel read her correctly, as she put on her trademark grin in response.

Max was blushing red throughout and by now the audience caught on to the fact that Rachel was addressing her with this song. Max internally wanted to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic and never come back up. With her second number done, more applause and cheers came Rachel's way. Max could tell she was basking in it and loved every moment of it. She must have felt right in her element during all of this.

Once more, the crowd demanded more. It seemed they just couldn't get enough.

"Ok, one more since you guys are so awesome!", Rachel said.

"What's your next choice?", the announcer asked again.

"For my final song, I'm going with "All I need" by Within Temptation."

Rachel performed her last number with all the emotion she could muster, that much Max could tell. Much like she herself had done, Rachel never took her eyes off Max the whole time, with this song being just for her. Max tore up all too easily, but she enjoyed this more than she could ever put into words. The audience had now extended far beyond the bar and over a hundred people were watching at this point, all transfixed by Rachel's downright angelic voice.

When she had finished, Max got up, rushed up to Rachel and held her close in front of everyone else, not even caring that they were there. Even the announcer was impressed.

"I hope this wasn't the last time we get to hear you guys sing!", he said.

"We will see, you never know!", Rachel said smiling wide.

They sat down next to each other and watched other participants perform their songs for a while, but none of them managed to get the audience as excited as either of them did. Eventually, they decided it was late and it was time return to their cabin for the night.

* * *

"Rachel, I had no idea you could sing like that, you have the most beautiful singing voice I have ever heard!", Max admitted as they walked through the corridors towards their cabin.

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises. You were pretty damn good too, I tore up from your song. That song choice was no coincidence was it?"

"It wasn't, but neither were yours. "I Kissed a Girl"? Really?"

Rachel giggled.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I just couldn't resist."

"You aren't sorry, but I'm not really upset either, so it's all good. I was pretty funny."

They arrived at the cabin and went inside.

"Max, you asked me something earlier and I didn't get a chance to answer you yet."

"You mean when I asked why you were teasing me so much today, even though you know exactly that I would end up putting you in your place?", Max asked.

"Exactly. Well you see, Max, I have a strong personality."

"Noticed, but that's nothing new."

"My point is that when you have a personality like mine, you are used to having your way with others and no one really wanting to stand up to you."

"Where is this heading, Rachel?"

"You see, for the longest time, I had no idea what it is like when someone does that to me and in a weird way, I'm enjoying that feeling with you. For example, the first time I remember feeling that way was when we had this banter back at my parent's house and you shut me up with a kiss, that's when you also came up with your "losers don't talk" thing. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I do. You are telling me you enjoyed that?"

"I did as a matter of fact. So that got me thinking that perhaps I like being dominated just as much as I like being dominant. It sounds like it shouldn't make sense, but it seems you are the only one I make that exception for. It's my way of bonding with you, I don't mean any actual harm towards you in any way, on the contrary. So, tonight I shall not resist you in any way and let you take the reigns." She proceeded to lay down on the bed, still in her red dress. "And I have been a particularly _bad_ girl today, don't you agree?", Rachel said with an expectant yet alluring expression.

Max walked up to the bed, threw off her shoes and got on.

"Oh, you have been very bad _indeed_."


	24. Clash at Cozumel! The Ultimate Dragon!

Max awoke this morning to the sound of Rachel's voice.

"I was wondering when you were gonna wake up."

Max opened her eyes.

"How long have I slept?", she asked.

"It's past 8 AM, you totally missed the alarm."

Rachel was already up and dressed.

"I must have been more tired than I realized."

"You didn't seem very tired last night. Well... not to me anyway."

"You serenading me like that had consequences."

"Oh? I thought it was because I've been getting under your skin all day."

"That too. But you owned that stage like it was second nature to you. You had everyone mesmerized, myself included. Why did you never tell me you could sing like that?", Max asked.

"I guess it never occurred to me to tell you and you never asked me to sing for you."

"I might have to from now on, you are really good at it. Heck, I could see you making that a career."

"Ok, Max, I appreciate the flattery, but don't shower me with praise just because I'm your wife."

"I mean it, Rachel, that was something else. I've never seen people so drawn to you outside of a theater. The whole promenade was watching!"

"You weren't that bad either, Max. Making me cry in front of so many people takes some effort. I want you to know that I got the message."

"I hoped you would, then again, I couldn't have made it any more obvious."

"Today we are gonna be at Cozumel, by the way.", Rachel said.

"Got anything in mind that we can do?"

"I haven't booked anything, but I figured we could go for a little stroll and check out the local shops. Well, after breakfast of course, but first take this.", Rachel said, handing Max a sea-sickness pill.

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

From the dining room, they could see that the ship had already arrived at Cozumel and for a brief moment, the sight of land felt strange to Max. She had gotten so used to seeing nothing but water everywhere she turned.

This morning, Max ordered herself an omelet while Rachel got herself a breakfast platter with an assortment of favorites such as bacon, eggs and sausage links.

"It looks beautiful out there.", Max said after finishing her meal.

"You can tell they built this place with cruise ships in mind.", Rachel said.

"How so?"

"Just look at it. As soon as we get off that pier we basically walk into a shopping district. Places like these probably only keep their heads above water because of all the tourism from these ships."

"Are you telling me to expect trouble?"

"I'm telling you that we should be vigilant, that is all. How good is your Spanish anyway?"

"Uh, pretty much non-existent."

"Good thing I learned a bit on the side."

"I might have to rely on that, so can we agree not to split up?"

"Of course, I'm not going to take my eyes off you. However, let's also agree that if we do lose track of each other somehow, that we go the pier as soon as we do."

"Deal."

* * *

Having gone back to their cabin and having applied some sunscreen, they made their way down the ship to get on land. The line was fairly long and it took them a good half hour to get off the ship. Part of the reason for this was that every passenger had to get their room card scanned to confirm they were off the ship and a security checkpoint with metal detectors was put in place as well. However, once they were past all of that, they could take in the view of Cozumel's harbor. It was pristine, with light blue waters, palm trees and dozens upon dozens of little huts and other small buildings dotting the promenade of the port. The smell of exotic foods and the sound of music hang in the air.

"Are we just browsing or do you actually want to get anything?", Max asked Rachel.

"I'm just curious what they have here, but if I see something interesting, I wouldn't be against a souvenir."

They went into a little shop that was selling small sculptures, mostly animal themed ones.

"Check out that dragon, that looks badass.", Max said.

She saw Rachel checking it out as well. It was a sculpture of a red Chinese dragon with piercing yellow eyes.

"A dragon huh? It's funny, I always debated on getting one as a tattoo.", she said.

"I never mentioned that, but the other you actually had one like that."

"But on second thought, maybe a little statue like this will do. Should look great on my desk!"

Max couldn't really find one to her liking, so with Rachel's newest acquisition in a bag, they moved on.

Walking across a small plaza, they were suddenly confronted by three men. They asked if they were looking for souvenirs, while Max was talking out loud about it. They were led to a rather sizable store, compared to most of the others. Going inside, they noticed that none of the items had any visible price tags, neither for dollars or pesos. It seems they expected their customers to barter instead.

Max looked around and came across a wooden model of a doe. She beheld it and actually quite liked it. Her discovery did not remain unnoticed by the shopkeeper.

"How much for this one?", she asked him.

"200 dollars.", he replied with a heavy accent.

"200?!"

How on earth was this statue, neat as it was, worth that much? Then Max remembered that she was probably meant to go lower until they could agree on a price. Even though she already did not feel comfortable about this, she played along for now.

"How about 40?", she asked.

She didn't really understand his reply in Spanish and turned to Rachel.

"He is saying that these are expensive to make and crafted by hand, so he can't go under 150.", Rachel said. She then, however, proceeded to whisper into Max's ear. "Max, this is worth maybe 50 bucks at the most! Don't let him rip you off!"

Max felt herself panicking inside and really did not feel comfortable about this any longer.

"Ok, 50 dollars, take it or leave it."

The shopkeeper shook his head.

"140.", he said, followed by another phrase in Spanish that Max didn't understand.

"He says 140, can't go lower than that."

"Fine, then I'm out of here. Sorry, but no dice."

Max felt like suffocating and needed some air to get rid of her anxiety and headed outside the store with Rachel in tow, however, the shopkeeper didn't take no for an answer.

"You are my first customer today, please! 120!"

Suddenly he could speak English, so this guy had deceived her from the start! Not to mention that Max could spot at least five other people roaming the store right at that point.

"I said no, now leave us alone!", she said, feeling her anxiety rising again as she kept walking away.

The guy was still not listening. As he kept following them, Rachel suddenly turned around and put herself in between them.

"¡Ya oiste a la chica! ¡ha dicho que no! ¡piérdete ahora mismo pendejo o lo vas a lamentar!", Rachel shouted at him in Spanish.

Finally, this caused the guy to walk off, leaving Max staring wide-eyed at Rachel.

"I don't know what you said to him, but it seems to have worked."

"Don't sweat it, to these kinds of people we are just wallets with legs, waiting to be picked. I basically told him that you made your point and that he should leave us alone, just, you know, a bit more forceful than you did. I mean, you saw how well they were organized, they overheard you talking and singled you out just like that.", Rachel said, snapping her finger. "This guy probably pays these goons to lead people to his store."

"Thanks, Rachel, that situation really made me feel uncomfortable. I knew I could count on you though."

"You would have done the same for me. Now, let's move on before any more creeps come out their holes."

They retreated back to the promenade, away from the open plaza.

"Why couldn't they have just posted prices like everyone else?", Max complained out loud.

"Because then they wouldn't be to able to scam gullible victims out of their money, which is clearly their intent."

"I see you have many hidden talents, I kinda envy that.", Max admitted. referring to Rachel's Spanish skills.

"What can I say? It helps to have them and I'm sure you have some of those too that you just don't know about yet."

"I lost my rewind though."

"I'm not talking about superpowers, Max. As matter of fact, I wish I could ditch my power, whatever you want to call it if it means I can be a normal human being again and not represent a danger to you."

"You aren't a danger to me."

"I wish I could agree with that, I really wish I could, but ever since that evening... well, let's not talk about that, we are here to have fun."

They dropped the topic and continued strolling along the promenade, checking out stores as they went. Eventually, Max found a souvenir for herself, a colorful hummingbird keychain that seemed to have been made from beads. With little else to do or see, they decided to head back to the ship, as the heat was getting to Max pretty badly.

* * *

Back on the cruise ship they first headed to their room to stash their items away and getting something to drink.

"I'm sorry our first trip on shore wasn't what you were hoping for.", Rachel said.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It is, Max. Your face after that incident said it all. You just wanted to be back here, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to ruin it for you either."

"Max, between you and me, it used to be just _you_ who cared about shopping. I don't mind browsing, but I prefer to get what I want and leave it at that. I wouldn't have taken offense if you wanted to head straight back after what happened."

Rachel looked like she was thinking about something for a moment.

"How about this? We did make a budget for this trip right? I wouldn't mind doing some fun things next time we get to go on shore since browsing stores gets kinda boring after a while."

"Like what?", Max asked.

"I took the liberty of looking at what Grand Cayman and Roatán have to offer and found some things that are bound to be up your alley as well as mine."

"I'm listening."

"Grand Cayman has a submarine that we can get on to explore the local coral reef and Roatán has a dolphin encounter where you can get in the water with them. How do those sound?"

"A submarine and dolphins? That sounds great, can we afford that?"

"We can, it would leave us just enough to for a few little knickknacks but nothing major, but somehow I doubt you wanted to buy anything from the art gallery anyway."

"Wanted to? I admit I was tempted, but the prices in there are very sobering, to say the least."

"That just makes me imagine you drunk now that you mentioned the word sober!", Rachel said chuckling.

"I don't know what I would be like and I'd rather not find out."

"Better than me, I'm sure."

"I remember you mentioning that. How badly?"

"Max, you used to drag me to those Vortex Club parties, of course I drank a lot... as did you by the way, though not as badly as me even though I tried my best to not waste myself entirely like I used to. I never saw you getting up in people's faces."

"I'm terribly sorry for that, that's not happening anymore at least. Dare I ask what that did to you?"

"Well, it turns out my destructive habits only got amplified. At one point I got so pissed at Logan flirting with you that knocked his ass into the pool after giving him the bitch-slap of a lifetime."

"Even while drunk you protect me, that's cute."

"That sounds like something _I_ would say. But yes, I did get hella protective around you. I wasn't about to share you with anyone and it's probably even more so the case now. Although, you handled yourself well the other day when that dude tried to wow you with a drink. But today I wasn't about to stand there doing nothing."

"I wouldn't have been so brave without you around."

"Well, would you be brave enough for another round of Egyptian Rat Screw after lunch? I can bring the cards up there with us."

"Yeah, that's fine. But no rings this time, remember?"

"I won't forget, don't worry."

* * *

After getting their lunch at the buffet like before, they sat down to play another round of cards, except without the rings this time to reduce the chance of injury. As the game went on, Max had gotten better at spotting her opportunities to score cards and the game had quickly turned into an endless struggle of neither of them being able to claim enough cards to ever win.

"Alright, Maxter, I'm declaring sudden death! Whoever can't answer the next face card loses!"

"Bring it!"

Rachel revealed a card and Max played one on top followed by yet another card by Rachel forming a "sandwich", with the bottom and top cards being the same kind. They both quickly realized this and slammed their hands down once again to claim them.

"Ow!"

Max lost this slapping contest.

"I swear Rachel, your nails are like lion claws.", she said.

"Meow!", she said playfully. "I told you what happens when you mess with the lion!"

"I get the claws, I know."

"Damn right!"

Max revealed a face card next.

"Well then, lion queen, what have you got?"

Slowly and with anticipation, Rachel revealed her next card, a joker. A card that is literally useless and couldn't be used in any manner.

"Aw!", she exclaimed.

"Gotcha, victory is mine.", Max said.

"You are getting good at this, I'm gonna have to take you seriously from now on."

"Rachel, you... ugh.", Max said with a sigh. "I know you just played as a well as you possibly can, you cannot fool me anymore, how often do I need to tell you that?"

"Oh really? Know any other games that don't need as much luck where I can prove that to you?", Rachel challenged her.

A short while later, they entered an area on the ship with a number of rectangular tables.

"Table tennis?", Rachel asked upon seeing them.

"Yes, this game is all skill, so this should settle it. Eleven points to win!", Max said.

"I'm not afraid of you, show me what you got."

A furious match unfolded and Max could tell that Rachel's gloves had come off and that she was playing to win now but this only encouraged her, in turn, to try her hardest to defy the odds and win anyway.

The score kept climbing in Max's favor, standing at ten to eight at this point.

"This cannot be! Why am I having such trouble?", Rachel uttered in disbelief.

"I'm motivated to beat you, whereas you are afraid that I could win and knock you off your proverbial throne. Again.", Max said.

If Max scored one more point, she would win and it was her turn to serve the ball.

In a lightning-fast fashion, Rachel hit the incoming ball right back and Max failed to intercept it. This repeated another time, evening out their score now.

"Last ball of destiny, Max. You'd better be ready for this."

Max remained silent, trying to push her senses and focus on the edge.

When the ball came flying, she hit it right back and Rachel reacted accordingly. Ultimately, the ball was flying back and forth for minutes, without either of them being able to score. Max could herself getting sweaty and tired, but unwilling to give in. For a moment it seemed like they were stuck in an infinite loop, with neither side capable of beating the other. It was a battle of willpower versus pride.

But then, she received an incoming ball from Rachel and out of frustration hit it with full force. At first, she was concerned she had made a huge mistake and thought that this would shoot the ball out of bounds. However, it just barely scrapped the field before taking off away from the table. She had won!

Panting and breathing heavily, she put down her racket.

Suddenly, people started applauding. They were so focused on beating each other, that they hadn't noticed that two young teenage boys had watched their all-out battle. They seemed of different ages, with the tall one being around Max's age.

"Great match guys, that was intense!", the younger one of them said.

Max glanced over at Rachel who was just as out of breath as she was.

"Max... I congratulate you on your victory, I gave it all I got, you got me beat.", she said under heavy breathing.

"Who are you guys?", Max asked her spectators.

"I'm Kyle and this is my little brother Mike.", the taller boy said.

"Glad you guys enjoyed the show.", Max said smiling.

"Yeah, we were wondering if you guys were up for another game, but a different one."

"What have you got in mind?"

"Follow us to the card room and you will find out!"

Max eyed Rachel who shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Ok, let's see what you have in mind."

* * *

They followed the curious duo to the card room. Where they presented them with two decks of cards.

"If you really want to test your skills, try a duel with these.", Kyle said, handing each Max and Rachel a deck.

"A... duel?", Max said.

Rachel looked at the cards she was given.

"Oh wow, I haven't seen these in forever.", she said.

Looking at her own cards, it had hit Max. She once saw these cards ages ago, back when she was like seven years old, but never owned any of her own and neither did Chloe, although she remembered her being fond of some of them once upon a time when they watched the accompanying TV show.

"Same here, some of these are almost as old as I am."

"Do you guys need a tutorial?", Kyle asked.

"Yeah, my memory of this is super outdated.", Max admitted.

After a thorough re-introduction to the game, her and Rachel faced off.

"This is one game I didn't expect to ever play against you. But, hey, at least you get to keep your soul!", Rachel said.

"I want a wager though.", Max said, feeling that this would be appropriate.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"Whoever wins the duel decides the next game. Nothing big I know, but it's something."

"Simple and to the point, I like it.", Rachel agreed.

They shuffled their decks and drew their opening hands. She had to get Rachel's life points from 8,000 to zero if she wanted to win and the same went vice-versa.

The game proceeded with Max making little headway, as a matter of fact, Rachel's strategy involved increasing her own life points while simultaneously lowering Max's.

"Alright, Max, let's see if you can handle this. I'm gonna summon Fire Princess with 1,300 attack points. While I have this monster, you lose life points every time I gain any."

"Oh, joy, a slow and painful burn is your thing huh?"

"I'm not done yet! I also activate the spell Ancient Rules, allowing me to special summon another monster and I think you will like this one."

She played her card which was monster called Hyozanryu, which meant Diamond Dragon in English, in defense with 2,800 points.

"Try getting around that Maxter!"

"You are really enjoying this aren't you?", Max asked.

"It's been a while I have played this, but yes I am.", Rachel said gleefully.

Max started her turn and drew a card. Her hand had two big dragon monsters in it, but she had no means of playing them at the moment. She summoned her Temporal Magician with 1,800 attack points and hoped she could do some damage that way.

"Ok, I'm gonna go after that Fire Princess of yours.", she declared.

"Nu-uh you are not, I'm activating my Shift trap card. Your attack hits my dragon instead!"

Just like that, Max lost 1,000 points by running her monster into Rachel's dragon who took the attack without budging.

Now it was Rachel's turn again and she activated another trap, Solemn Wishes, that remained on the field, allowing her to gain life points every turn when she would draw a card. With every passing turn, Max lost more life points due to Rachel's combo with her Fire Princess and all of her attacks were diverted to the big dragon that Rachel guarded herself with.

"Your deck is annoying as hell.", Max said, being frustrated with watching her life points melt away slowly but surely. Eventually, Rachel had gone on the offensive with her monsters as well and drained all but 500 points of Max's life points. She had one more turn to do something, but she couldn't do anything with what she had in her hand, only three of the same dragon card that she couldn't summon as well as a seemingly useless spell card. Rachel had run out of traps to defend herself, however.

"Go ahead Max, draw that last pathetic card of yours!", Rachel taunted her.

Having already given up any hope of winning, Max drew. Her expression quickly changed from disappointment to one of surprise and she put on a big fat grin and started giggling.

"What's so funny there Maxter?", Rachel said, still brimming with confidence in her victory.

"You are done now, Rachel."

Max played the card she just drew, it was Polymerization.

"This allows me to send these three guys to the graveyard and do a fusion!", she announced.

"A fusion?!"

"Hella yes."

Having discarded all three of her mighty dragons, she now played her most powerful monster.

"Say hello to Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"That thing's got _4,500_ attack points? Not bad Max, not bad at all, but you aren't winning with just that. I have 9,000 life points over here."

"Just watch. I attack your Fire Princess, inflicting 3,200 damage to you."

"I'm still at 5,800. Nice try."

"Oh Rachel, I should have mentioned that I'm not done yet."

"Wait, what?

"I activate a quick-play spell, De-Fusion!"

"You have got to be kidding me."

"That allows me to send my Ultimate Dragon back where he came from in exchange for all three of these!"

Max played her three copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field, which were all staring down Rachel with 3,000 attack points each.

"So after obliterating that dragon of yours, that's another 6,900 damage coming right at you, I believe I just owned your arrogant ass."

Rachel went very quiet out of the sudden, with her mouth wide open, dropping her cards on the table.

"Max, what the hell is going on with you today? You are like invincible! I can't even win when I try anymore!"

"That was an awesome game guys!", Mike said.

"Mike's right. I have never seen such a miraculous comeback in a duel before. Your name was Max, right? You just pulled one the toughest combos in the whole game. Most impressive!", Kyle said.

"Thanks for the game guys, I believe these are yours.", Max said handing over her deck.

"My brother and I would like for each of you to keep one card of your choice, consider it a memento.", Mike said.

"Any card you said?", Rachel asked.

"Yup, on the house.", Kyle confirmed.

"I know mine then, Hyozanryu.", Rachel declared her choice.

Max looked at hers.

"I'll take this one if that's ok.", Max said, holding up Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, the card that enabled her victory.

"By all means, you earned it, considering what you managed to do with it.", Mike told her.

"We better get back to our parents, it was fun to see you guys going at it though!", Kyle said.

"You are welcome, thanks for the cards.", Max said with a grateful smile.

They were now alone again.

"Max, seriously, what the _hell_ did you put into your drink this morning?", Rachel in disbelief.

"Nothing, I guess it's just my lucky day."

"Well, I'm mighty impressed regardless. You pushed me to the limits in everything we have done lately and your persevered, despite my best efforts."

"I accept your compliment gratefully."

Max felt very proud of herself, it isn't often that Rachel admitted having been bested, let alone several times over.

Max checked the time again, it was now 5 PM.

"Wanna go eat Rachel? After all this, I worked up quite the appetite. We just spent four hours with games."

"Yeah, let's go. I'm sure Sergio is already missing your lovely blue mane."

"You are full of it."

"If you say so, Maxter."

* * *

Stopping back at their room first, Max suddenly caught herself staring at the card she was given. It's piercing blue eyes reminded her of someone. To her, it represented a symbolic trinity between herself, Chloe and Rachel but it was one that they were never able to achieve. It seemed like fate didn't wish for the three of them to unite permanently and the brief time they were all together was overshadowed by Max's disregard for Rachel's feelings and her eventual meltdown as a result of that. Deep down, she felt overwhelmed with sadness again. This was a bad timing for it, but apparently, her emotions didn't stick to predictable schedules.

"Rachel, I'm gonna be gone for a moment, I hope that's ok."

"Where are you going?", she asked.

"I just wanna go out on deck for some air, I will be back soon."

"Don't want me to come along?", Rachel said in an unusually quiet tone that betrayed the fact that Rachel sounded slightly disappointed.

As much as a part of Max wanted this, she had to do this by herself, she didn't want Rachel to know about this.

"I'm sorry.", Max said while getting teary-eyed and choking up.

She walked outside to the side of the ship and rested her arms on the railing, staring down into the dark blue sea below and feeling the breeze on her face. Tears started rolling down her face, falling down into the waves while she commenced her quiet sobbing in solitude.

"I wish you were here right now...", she said out loud to herself. "You would love it here, there is so much to see, so much to try. It would have just been you and me and the sea like we always wanted." Max wiped her tears away, but more kept coming. "Rachel is incredible, do you know that? Duh, of course, you do, you knew her before I ever did. I'm so sorry about how we parted, if I had known just how amazing she was, I would have done more or at least tried. But that is all history now, isn't it? I don't know if you are still out there, somewhere in another universe. I miss you so much... I would give a lot to see you again, even if just for a moment."

Her emotional breakdown lasted for another few minutes before she regained her composure. Every now and then she was forced to go through this and she had kept this hidden from Rachel ever since Chloe's death over half a year ago when that dreadful storm hit. It made her feel like she lost her best friend twice, first, she had to leave her behind with no way of going back and the other died due to her interference with history. She didn't want to appear weak to her partner, so she kept this to herself, but the timing couldn't have been worse and Rachel was without a doubt confused.

Not willing to keep her waiting any longer, Max turned around and went back to their cabin.

* * *

Rachel was still where Max left her, sitting on the bed and staring at her with an expression of worry. How could Max just act as if this didn't just happen? This time, she had no idea what to do or what to say.

"Max, I'm not oblivious, if that's what you were expecting. I know something is wrong with you, I can feel it. Why won't you tell me?"

Max sat down next to her, feeling her insides aching all over again and her tears wanted to flow once more.

"Hold me.", she said.

Rachel embraced her without question as Max laid down with her head in Rachel's lap.

"It's about Chloe, isn't it?", Rachel asked.

Instead of saying anything, Max simply nodded.

"I see."

"Are you mad?", Max quivered.

"No, Max, I'm not. Did you think I would be?"

"I hoped you wouldn't be."

"You should know me better than that by now."

"I'm sorry, I was afraid you'd think of me being a weakling, so I left."

"Max Amber, you are many things, but the word weakling is not on the list. What kind of monster would I have to be to dare call you that?"

"You always told me that I got so much stronger, so I didn't want to disappoint you I guess."

"Max, strength isn't just about how many games you win or how daring you are. It's also much more importantly about facing your inner fears and coming to terms with them."

"You are wise."

"Thanks, but this wasn't something I learned by myself. You taught me that, so you should know this better than anyone else."

"I did?"

"You really did, believe it or not."

"I'm sorry I'm ruining our evening."

"Max, please. Nothing is ruined so long as you are with me."

"Thanks."

"I have noticed this before, by the way. Every other week or so you undergo an emotional breakdown like this because of your old friend. I could tell you tried to hide it from me."

"I'm sorry I did."

"I don't blame you, not really. It's a personal thing and I understand the need to be alone at times like that. I didn't say anything about it before, because I felt like giving you the space you needed. But tonight I needed to confront you about it and let you know that I don't mind what you feel for her still."

"You have no idea how good it is to hear that. Once upon a time, you wished she wouldn't exist."

"I know, I remember what I said back then. Of course, that was before I knew who you two really were and what your bond really was. If I could undo what I said, I would do so in a heartbeat and treat Chloe like the great friend that I bet she was. She did seem like someone I could have used as a friend in hindsight.", Rachel said, holding on to the bullets of her necklace in her hand.

"Best not to wish for that, you don't know what else you might end up changing.", Max warned.

"Hey, you found me that way didn't you?"

"Yes, that is true. Just easily it could also cause me to lose you again."

"I'm never leaving your side, Max. Speaking of leaving, we kept poor Sergio waiting. Let me know when you wanna head for dinner, but no rush."

"You and Chloe together is something I certainly missed. I can see you rocking out at concerts without a care in the world. I would have loved to see that."

"Like I said, maybe in some other universe, they are doing that right now."

"You always know what to say."

Eventually, Max perked up again and looked into Rachel's hazel eyes.

"I'm blessed to have found you, Rachel."


	25. Storm and Tide

Despite Max's emotional episode the evening before, Rachel remained very understanding and supportive of Max. She meant what she said and even though deep down she still kind of envied the childhood bond that Chloe and Max once had, Rachel came long since to accept that she simply showed up later in Max's life. To her, what they had now mattered more and it was worth fostering and protecting.

Today, they were planning on checking out Grand Cayman after they would go to have breakfast.

"I still can't believe I lost every single competition between us yesterday.", Rachel said while combing her hair in front of the mirror.

"And I can't believe I actually managed to win at all. It seems like whatever we compete in, we always end up evenly matched, almost to a fault.", Max remarked.

"I noticed that, with some exceptions."

"You don't feel threatened, do you, Rachel?"

"In what way?"

"I mean, you always seemed to have a commanding aura. I had the impression from the start that you liked to be the one in charge."

"Max, you are the only one in the whole wide world that I truly consider equal in every way. I know we tease each other a lot, but I'd like to think that in actuality, we have a good balance. I don't consider myself to be in charge in this relationship, nor do I feel like you boss me around."

"Others might disagree on that."

"Let them. I do not stand above you and that is how I'd like to see and keep it."

"You are older though, even if not by that much."

"Max, you will find that eventually, the age gap means zip when it comes to how people act or behave."

Rachel turned to face Max.

"That is not a problem for you, is it? Me being older I mean?", she asked.

"Not at all, even if I admit I kind of thought of you like a big sister back when I heard about you from everyone. Both you and Chloe are older than me. Actually, I was wondering if our age difference mattered to _you_ at all.", Max responded.

"It really doesn't... well not anymore."

"Not anymore? It mattered once?"

Rachel felt somewhat caught off guard by this and blushed ever so slightly.

"Not for the reasons you might think. Remember how we met all those years ago?"

"In an MMO, yeah you told me."

"Yes, so you see, at that time were both minors right? But once you moved to Arcadia Bay... things got a bit complicated, you could say."

"How so?"

"I was already 19 when you arrived, while you were still 17. Granted, you were like only three weeks away from turning 18, but I think you see the implication here?"

"Oh."

"Oh indeed. I had to restrain myself heavily for a while around you and it wasn't easy."

"Hold on.", Max said, seemingly having a realization.

"What is it?"

"We did a do-over of my birthday at one point."

"Yes, we did."

"You said something back then, something about how the day originally ended."

Knowing exactly was Max was talking about, Rachel's face was on fire by now.

"Rachel... was that when we first..."

"Yes.", Rachel interjected bluntly but with a knowing smile.

Now it was Max who turned red and she had to subdue a nervous laugh.

"I told you to use your imagination, remember? But you just _had_ to ask.", Rachel said, still smiling away.

"Wow, you _are_ a cougar after all! Like bonafide! You couldn't wait a minute longer than necessary to get your hands on me couldn't you?", Max teased, nudging Rachel's shoulder playfully with her fist.

"Now hold on just a second here, you seem to be missing some necessary info here.", Rachel said in her defense.

"Oh really? Like how you seduced poor little me? I can only imagine!"

"No, you dummy, I'm talking about the fact that it wasn't _me_ who started it all."

"Wait, are you telling me that I actually made a move _on you_ that time? For real?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying. As a matter of fact, I had to reject your advances once before that even happened! I stopped at kissing, but you were so impatient and didn't give a shit about any laws or morals, unlike me. Do you know how hard that was for me to keep you off myself? And I'm not just talking about the emotional aspect of that, just so you know."

"Wow, I had no idea I could be so bad.", Max said with embarrassment, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm not the _only_ wild cat in this room, my dear."

"Oh my god, I can't believe that!", Max said, her face burning up.

"You better, you are talking to the only witness of that event."

"Wow, my previous me was a lot worse than I thought."

"Don't you dare blame that entirely on your previous self, you hypocrite!"

"Huh?

"I remember that night with the double moons and let me remind you in case you forgot. You flung me on my bed like you waited your whole life for that to happen, I could tell. That was all you and it was all too familiar to me. Admit it, Max, you get rowdy when you know you want something or should I say, someone. I think deep down you were always a minx and just didn't know it yet. I wonder what your old pal Chloe would have said if I told her all of this."

"She would _never_ live that down, I can only imagine what she would say to me if she knew about this. I wouldn't hear the end of that ever, at my expense of course." Max said.

"I wonder what your former minion Victoria would have to say if I told her.", Rachel mused fiendishly.

"Not a word to her or anyone at Blackwell for that matter!", Max almost shouted.

"I'm just kidding, Max. I would never share such intimate details with anyone but you."

"I know, but just imagine if they knew!"

"Hold your head up high and take it like you don't care?"

"Easier for you than for me."

"Fair enough, are you ready to eat breakfast yet?"

"Let me brush my teeth and I'm good to go. You are still a cougar though."

"And you will never live _that_ down, won't you?"

"Nope, it's all too easy."

It was a good thing Rachel still got a kick out of being called that by Max.

* * *

After filling up a variety of bread rolls and bacon for breakfast, they went to have a look at today's location, Grand Cayman. The island was off in the distance, as its harbor was too small for a massive ship like the Tempest. The sea was a bit rougher than the days before but still bearable. They would have to use a tender service to get over there though, which meant cramming into a small boat alongside everyone else that wanted to go one boat at a time. Rachel held on to the tickets that she secured the night before, anxiously awaiting a trip under the waters of the Atlantic.

They waited in line for what felt like an hour but they finally made it onto a tender. After securing seats for themselves, Rachel looked up at the Tempest. It was raining fairly heavily as well, so avoiding to get wet on this excursion was out of the question already. The massive size of the ocean liner can easily be forgotten once one was aboard, but from the perspective of this comparatively tiny ship, the Tempest looked like a giant sea monster.

"Say, Max, do you think sea monsters exist?", she asked out of curiosity.

"Not the time, Rachel."

"I mean it, there could be literally anything below us right now."

"I said not the time!", Max replied with slight panic in her voice.

"Are you afraid the Kraken will rise and pull our ship under or something?"

"If I said yes, will you stop talking about it?"

"Wow you are really afraid of something like that, aren't you?"

"I don't like to think about that, I can't even see three feet down there and there is nothing but water around us."

"I know, that's why theorizing about this is so much fun."

"For you, maybe. I'm terrified of sharks and stuff, don't even get me started on sea monsters."

"Don't worry, Maxter. I'm sure no one will rouse Cthulhu from his slumber in R'lyeh while we are out here."

"Rouse who from where now?"

Rachel sighed.

"Gosh, you really need to read more books, Max."

They arrived at the island and got off the tender. Max took what little time she had prior to their trip to take pictures, best she could considering the weather. Meanwhile, Rachel took in the atmosphere of the place.

"Figures it would rain here, so typical.", she said.

"What do you mean?", Max asked while snapping one more photo.

"This group of islands belongs to the United Kingdom, Max."

"That explains why the cars are driving on the other side of the road here."

"Indeed, beats the hell out of me how people get used to that."

"I guess it's not so bad when it's all you know."

"Yeah, I suppose. I can only imagine their confusion if they were to visit the US."

"Have you ever been to the UK, Rachel?"

"No, but I always wanted to go. Some of my favorite bands are from there too."

"I think Chloe might have mentioned at some point that you talked about going there, well the other you I mean."

"I wouldn't rule that out, it would certainly be a worthwhile trip."

* * *

They followed their fellow passengers who also signed up for the submarine tour to a small building next to a pier. Here, they had to wait for another boat to pick them up, which would then take them to the sub.

"Why don't they just bring the sub in here?", Max wondered.

"It's pretty big from what I read, it might not fit in here."

"Rachel, who's Cthulhu anyway? You mentioned that earlier and you got me curious now.", Max asked her.

"He's a fictional character, written about by H.P. Lovecraft in the late 1920's. Cthulhu is basically an otherworldly entity that is said to reside in the hidden underwater city of R'lyeh, where he lies sleeping. It is said that he resembles something like a cross between a dragon and an octopus and he is so mighty that merely beholding an image of him, like a statue, for instance, can drive you insane. Lovecraft wrote many stories involving creatures like that, whose mere existence cannot be comprehended by human minds. It is said if he were to rise, he would reclaim the world as his own but only if the stars are in the right spots. Oh and he's immortal too."

"That's... not scary at all.", Max said sarcastically.

"It's cosmic horror, my dear, it's different from your more modern slasher and zombie stuff. This is more about terrorizing your mind, not hacking you to pieces with an ax. It's a lot more subtle too."

"Interesting, I may just be tempted to give that a read."

"You should, though it's not for everyone."

"I used to love reading stories about monsters, but I think over time I lost my interest in that. My phobia of the ocean doesn't help either in this case."

"Are you afraid of the ocean or of what's in it?", Rachel asked.

"Probably what's in it. Once, I walked in on my parents when they watched Jaws when I was way too young for that stuff and ever since I can't watch anything with sharks anymore. Chloe made fun of that, but it's a real problem for me."

"You know that's all special effects right? The movies I mean?"

"Yeah, duh, but tell that to my mind that want's to run as soon as I see the image of a Great White."

"You used to be terrified of me too, once upon a time. But you ended up marrying me. What does that tell you?"

"That you are not a shark after all?"

Rachel giggled.

"Well, I'm not, but the point is you used to be intimidated, you got used to me and now we are inseparable."

"I suppose I could face my fear of sharks, but hopefully that won't happen today."

"I do think there may be some sharks around here, but I don't know if we get to see any."

The boat had then suddenly stopped. The submarine had surfaced nearby and was awaiting the arrival of its passengers. Getting inside, Rachel could feel ever so slightly claustrophobic, but she could bear it. For her part, she was more worried about Max than anything at this point. They sat down on seats next to each other, each facing a viewport that allowed a view below the surface. She could feel Max wanting to hold her hand and she held on to let her know that everything was alright. The sub moved a lot from the current, as the sea was far from calm, causing some slight discomfort for Rachel, hopefully, it wasn't any worse for Max.

Making it's way down to the local coral reefs, the sub quickly gained the attention of a fairly large school of silver-colored fish, which swam along the sub for a good while, coming right up to the glass.

"See? They aren't afraid of us either.", Rachel said to Max.

"They are all staring at me it feels like, it's weird.", Max said.

"Wanna bet they think we look weird too?"

"They probably do."

The coral reefs were massive, covering the entire seafloor and the rocks of the surrounding environment. At one point, the sub had reached it's maximum dive depth while hovering between the coral reef and a large, cliff-like dropoff that was as dark as the night, with no bottom in sight.

"That looks so terrifying, but why do I wanna know what's down there?", Max said out loud while staring into the abyss in front of them.

"Because it's also fascinating. We are drawn to things that are new and interesting, it's a shame we can't go deeper."

Turning around, the sub now made it's way back where it came from.

"Check it out Max, there's your super scary shark!", Rachel said, pointing out the animal in question.

A nurse shark was resting on the sand floor of the coral reef below, apparently not at all disturbed by the giant vehicle intruding on its territory as it passed by.

"He looks... harmless.", Max said.

"Nurse sharks are fairly docile, some call them the puppies of the sea."

"That's a big puppy, must be like twelve feet long or something. He's just chilling there."

"Still terrified of sharks Max? I doubt this guy would even notice you unless you get up in his face and I think he'd swim away more likely than anything."

"Maybe not of all of them then, but a Great White is something else compared to that one down there."

"Fair enough."

"The dolphins will be nice to see up close though.", Max said with much anticipation.

"I gotta admit, that should be an interesting encounter, to say the least."

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"How come you know so much? I know you've always been a straight-A student and all of that, but you seem to know _everything_. You know about all kinds of books, you play every game like you've played it your whole life and you always have an answer to any question. That and you speak other languages too. So tell me, are you using some kind of secret rewind I don't know about so you always know what I'm about to say?"

Rachel chuckled at the thought of being put on such a pedestal.

"Max, I don't know _everything_ , but I'd like to think I know a lot. I think one advantage I have is that I always remember most of the stuff I learn and pick up. Knowledge is power, after all. And no, I do not possess that super awesome rewind power that you used to have, hell I was jealous of that ability of yours, remember? As for my language skills, that is something I guess I'm just good at."

"I suppose, but it's just another thing I envy you for. How many languages do you speak?"

"Well, obviously English, but I also speak some Spanish, French, Russian and a bit of German. So that makes five in total. I'm not fluent in all of them, but I can make basic conversation at the very least."

"Wow, you are incredible."

"Merci, mademoiselle.", Rachel responded in French, thanking Max.

Rachel spotted something in the water.

"You thought I knew everything? Here's a good example that says otherwise, Max.", she said.

"Hm?"

"I don't know what _that_ is."

Another shark appeared, but this one looked different and swam parallel to the sub.

"That one looks scarier than the last, I think that's a reef shark, he's a local.", Max said, identifying the shark correctly.

"Well, there you go Professor Amber, you knew something I didn't!", Rachel remarked.

"This one stares at me too, why do they all have to stare?"

"Gotta be that blue hair of yours. I should know, it wowed me too."

"Oh shush!"

* * *

Once the sub arrived back at the harbor, they disembarked. The air inside the vehicle had become somewhat stale and the smell of fresh ocean air was a welcome reprieve for both of them, even if it was still raining.

After tendering back to the harbor and then to the ship, they finally made it back aboard. Max let herself fall on their bed.

"I had a lot of fun, but I gotta admit, if it weren't for the sea-sickness pills I probably would have thrown up in that thing.", she said.

"Same here. By the way, what time is it?", Rachel asked.

"It's 4:30 PM."

"Damn, we spent a lot of time out there!"

"Considering how long it took to get off the boat, on land, on the sub and back again, yeah it was a lot of time."

Rachel consulted the day planner for the upcoming day, their second last full day on the ship.

"Another formal night tomorrow.", she told Max.

"That means I get to see you in your knockout of a dress again."

"Yes, you will."

"Rachel, I know it's kinda early to talk about this and I really don't wanna detract from the mood, but what are our plans for when we get back to Arcadia Bay?"

This did, in fact, bring down Rachel's mood rather quickly.

"I assume you are referring to me and my parents?"

"Yes."

"Ugh, I don't know. I feel more inclined to visit my mom again, Sera. I want to know if she'd be interested in perhaps living with us. Would that be alright with you, I mean you don't know her at all, Max. Hell, I barely know her myself."

"I trust your judgment Rachel, if she's cool with you, she's cool with me, no matter what your dad says."

"I appreciate you trusting me on that."

"What about James and Rose though?"

Rachel did her best to subdue the smoldering anger that never really left her. It wasn't easy.

"I'm not hating on Rose, I just pity her and wish she'd kick his ass every now and then and not just let him do as he pleases. As for James... well, I don't know. If he were to literally come crawling to me on the floor and beg for forgiveness, I _might_ tolerate him again. But he will never be the loving father that I once had and it's all his fault. Son-of-a-bitch tortured my mom.", Rachel fumed, her hands formed into fists.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm always so damn nosy."

"Not your fault, Max."

"Nope, this is on me, I brought it up."

"Why does that matter?"

"What do you mean, why does it matter? I clearly brought up something I shouldn't have."

"Again, it's all his fault, we wouldn't have to deal with this right now otherwise."

"Rachel, I'm terribly sorry, I cannot imagine how painful that must be."

"You can't, nobody does and nobody can. Nobody cares."

"I care, Rachel."

"Then you are the only one. Excuse me, Max, I think I'm gonna need some air this time."

* * *

Leaving the cabin, Rachel's anger guided her every step. She found herself alone by the railing of the ship, in the same spot that Max was at last night, even if she wasn't aware of this.

She faced the horizon, her mind recalling her past incidents and confrontations with James.

"It doesn't matter how far I go, you are like a tumor I cannot get rid off. There are no words for what you have done, father. I can only hope that one day karma will give you due payback. I truly, truly hate and despise you.", she said, spitting her words like venom. A part of her was shocked to hear those words coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't help it. Her feelings were hard to ignore.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she beheld the horizon. The weather had turned. Where it was previously merely raining, the winds started picking up now and out of the sudden loud thunder erupted in the skies. It was a tropical storm and a nasty one at that. Rachel's hair blew in the wind but she stood there motionless, watching the flashing lights in the sky as lightning bolts stretched across the heavens.

"I wish I could use one of those on you right now.", she said in spite.

"Rachel?"

Hearing the sound of Max's voice, she did not turn around.

"You shouldn't have come, Max. I said I wanted to be alone."

"I can't leave you to deal with this by yourself... wait a minute... that storm..."

Max walked up to her, standing beside her.

"Did... did you do that?", she asked, staring at the sky.

"No, it just sort of happened, who cares?"

"Rachel, that's no joke, this is a hell of a storm, I can feel the ship moving back and forth!"

Max was correct, despite the massive size of the Tempest, even it's mighty construction was a mere plaything when subjected to the powers of nature.

Suddenly, the speaker system came online.

"All hands, this is the captain. Due to inclement weather, all shore operations are canceled immediately and all tenders are to return to the shore. Once all remaining passengers are aboard, we will depart on course to Roatán ahead of schedule. We ask for your understanding and patience."

"This is serious, Rachel!", Max said.

Rachel turned around and faced her.

"Max, are you honestly implying that I intentionally summoned a freaking tropical storm?!"

"Rachel, after what I have seen, I'm not sure what to believe anymore. But no, I don't want to think so."

"What do you think I am? Next, you are telling me I caused that storm that almost destroyed our town and killed all those people! Is that it?"

"I would never dare say that, Rachel!"

"But you are _thinking_ it, I can tell. You are terrified, it's all over your face, like an open book!"

Max's face was indeed covered in fear, her eyes most of all. Such things couldn't remain hidden from Rachel.

"Rachel, please just come back inside, I regret ever mentioning any of this."

Rachel thought about the possibility of what Max implied. If it is true that she created this storm, then what are the odds she wasn't somehow responsible for the last one? Could she really have created such a monstrosity of a tornado?

"Perhaps, you are right. Perhaps I did create that just now. Either that or I woke up Cthulhu after all."

"That is nonsense, that goes way beyond anything you have ever displayed before!"

"Does it? Every time I unleashed my power it was stronger than before, the last time it almost killed you. Who's to say this isn't just another aspect of it that I wasn't aware of yet? What if I do this often enough and the final result is something like that tornado?"

"Rachel, you couldn't have created that storm that hit Arcadia Bay! I saw that happen in my old reality before I ever came here. Your other you was already dead by then.", Max pointed out.

"Max... what if that was her final action though? Before she died? What if she had done something that ended up creating that thing as a result? It might have followed you here when it appeared!"

"But why? Why would your other you sic that storm on us?!"

"I don't know, only she would."

Rachel looked down at her hands, wishing she could rip this power out of herself somehow.

"I'm a monster, Max. I cause destruction no matter where I go. Fire, tornadoes, lightning, death, and wrath are all that entails this, there is nothing positive about it, I'm a monster!", she uttered, dropping to the ground crying. "Why am I cursed like this?! WHY?! What is the fucking point!? What is the meaning of this life of mine?"

Waves of guilt and sadness rolled over her, the rain washing away her tears. Then, she felt herself being lifted up by Max, who tucked her arm under her and pulled her up.

"I don't know why you have this power, Rachel. But you also have me and I'm not about to let you down."

"Max, why? Why would you put up with someone like me when you could have had Chloe instead? She wouldn't threaten you like this. Why me?", she said sobbing.

"I made my choice. I'm not going to let you slip into the darkness as well. Not after jumping through timelines and facing obstacle after obstacle. I don't care if you caused this storm or all the storms in the world. I swore to love you until the world stops turning and I intend to keep that promise. And there is nothing you can do about that."

"Nothing?"

" _Hella_ nothing."

Max held on to Rachel all the way back to their room.

"Max... I'm sorry for doubting you. There are no words in the whole universe that could ever describe how amazing you are."


	26. Aquatic Encounter

The sea had remained rough ever since the sudden tropical storm had descended upon Grand Cayman, which the Tempest managed to depart from safely. Despite that, strong waves even far from the storm made for a rather uncomfortable trip to Roatán.

When Max awoke, the movement of the ship became instantly noticeable this time. She also noticed that Rachel was already awake. They hadn't spoken a whole lot since yesterday's incident. Max felt stupid for having brought up Rachel's dad in that conversation they had and she could tell that Rachel felt deeply ashamed for her outburst, nevermind the fact that she may or may not have caused a storm at the same time.

"Morning, Max.", Rachel said upon seeing that Max had opened her eyes. Her tone was loaded with guilt.

"Hey, how did you sleep?", Max asked her.

"Been better, my dreams were weird."

"How so?"

"It's been going on for a while, I keep seeing these black birds in my dreams, Ravens I think."

"You think that could mean something?"

"I don't know Max, generally the raven isn't the kind of omen that's considered good. I keep seeing them circle around me like vultures as if they are waiting for me to keel over so they can devour me or something. They just keep croaking incessantly, I don't know what it all means."

Max suddenly remembered her own strange encounter with an animal.

"You aren't the only one with animal visions, Rachel."

"What do you mean, Max?"

"A long time ago, before I went back to save William, there was this doe that would appear near me. It appeared both in my tornado vision as well as in the junkyard. The weird thing was that it was translucent, I could see through it as if it was a ghost."

"A doe you said?"

"Yes. I felt like it was trying to tell me something and guide me somehow. A part of me wondered if that was you in hindsight, considering the other Rachel was already dead at that point. I even took a picture of it, but I don't have that anymore. I lost it when I came here."

"Max? I didn't really want to remind you of that, but during Chloe's funeral, there was something odd I noticed as well. I saw you eyeing this blue butterfly and you seemed to recognize it."

"Oh yes, how could I forget? I saw one just like that when I saved Chloe from Nathan. That's when I found out that I can rewind time. Ever since that storm though, I seem to have lost it."

"So many mysteries. If they weren't about us, I would usually love figuring this stuff out. But I'm at a point where I just want to rid myself of these powers but I don't know how to do that."

"I can only theorize again, that maybe fulfilling some kind of purpose will do it. I witnessed that storm and then mine was gone. Maybe you have yet to use your power for its intended purpose."

"Considering what it does, I'm scared to imagine what that is short of destroying all of Arcadia Bay."

"Don't even say that! That would be awful. I doubt they were meant to be used for evil purposes."

"You think so? Who's to say I'm not the devil's incarnation meant to bring about the end of the world?"

Max shook her head.

"You aren't the devil Rachel, you are far too kind for that. A little rough around the edges? Maybe, but you are no demon spawn to me."

"Thanks, Max."

Rachel suddenly embraced Max, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Max, I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday. You were right to come after me, I realize that now. I'm sorry for how I blew you off when you were just trying to be sympathetic. It is true that no one but me can truly understand what I'm dealing with, but me implying that no one cared was wrong of me. I hope you can forgive me for that and I want you to know that I didn't mean it. My mind is in a very dark place when it comes to my father, but that's no excuse for treating you like this. You deserve better than that."

Max placed her hands on Rachel's shoulder after she had leaned back again.

"I'm not mad at you. I accept your apology, but I want you to know that I didn't think ill of you for it. I will be more careful in my choice of words from now on and not talk about this unless you wish it. Is that ok with you?", she asked.

"Yes, that's sounds good."

Max gave Rachel a fairly long kiss, the first one they shared ever since their incident.

"Thanks, Max I feel better now.", Rachel said, finally able to smile again.

"Me too."

Despite the sea having been on the rough side throughout the night, the Tempest was scheduled to stop at Roatán like normal. The dock was just big enough to accommodate the cruise ship.

The weather was mercifully sunny and warm, with no rain clouds in sight anymore, even the ocean seemed to have calmed down somewhat ever since they arrived. The view from the dining room alone was inviting.

After making use of their opportunity to eat an Eggs Benedict yet again, they went to pack the items they would need to go on their excursion and headed off the ship alongside everyone else.

* * *

"This place is beautiful.", Rachel remarked, taking in the exotic surroundings.

She was right. There were palm trees and jungle as far as the eye could see, along with a small mountain range as well. New and strange bird calls filled the air.

They followed their group to a meeting point, similar to what they had to do at Grand Cayman prior to the submarine tour and waited under a tent with a straw roof in a large open square.

The locals were with no doubt used to visitors, but they both noticed that they drew quite the attention. Max looked around and felt an odd sensation. This place felt like she literally traveled to the past, around the 1980's or so. The cars on the road were way outdated for the year 2014 and vintage signs were everywhere, especially those of a popular soda brand. The houses were, for the most part, simple stone structures and were alarmingly small. More so than with Cozumel or Grand Cayman, Max had the impression that this place truly benefited from tourism and relied heavily on travelers like her and Rachel to come here.

Suddenly, Rachel spoke to her.

"Max, give me just one second, I will be right back, I promise.", she said, pulling a water bottle and some snacks she brought from her backpack before walking off.

Max saw Rachel walk over to a nearby house that was in a rather bad condition with a group of children playing in front of it. One of the children, a little boy that looked like he was may six or seven years old, sat by himself and did not look well at all. Max couldn't tell if he was sick or not, but he was most certainly suffering from malnutrition. Max started to walk over at this point.

Rachel came up to the child, kneeled down next to him and asked the little boy if he understood English, to which he said he did.

"Here, have this. You need this more than me.", Rachel said handing him the bottle of water and all the snacks she brought.

"Thank you.", the boy replied with a big smile on his face. "You are very kind."

Max felt her photo instinct kicking in and quickly took a picture of the two. After checking how it turned out, she asked the boy if she was allowed to keep it, which he had no problem with. They now returned to their waiting tent.

"Taking pictures already, Max?", Rachel remarked.

"Not just any, I think you just became my entry."

"Entry?"

"Do you remember the contest at Blackwell?"

"Oh, the Everday Heroes contest?"

"That's the one, you just became my hero to turn in."

"Aw, that's sweet of you. I had no idea you hadn't found a photo yet."

"That's why I couldn't afford to miss this one and I quite like it. For real though, that was a nice gesture of yours. Too many kids like him go ignored."

"I know, that's why I couldn't stand here and pretend he wasn't there. Let's face it, Max, we are better off than he is."

"Just like the song says, it's just another day in paradise for us, but not necessarily for him."

"I agree wholeheartedly, Max."

Getting on a bus with the rest of their travel group, Max and Rachel took in the sights of the island as it drove across. It truly seemed like it was stuck several decades behind, but it gave the island a certain charm at the same time. Their ride led up and down hills and through some smaller villages along the way.

Having arrived at the dolphin sanctuary, they got off and upon instruction went to the changing rooms.

"Max, you didn't put on any sunscreen earlier didn't you?", Rachel asked after they had changed.

"Butterfingers! I know I forgot something!", she said.

"It's ok, no need to panic, I got you covered."

"Whatever you say pun master."

"Hold still."

Max could have done this herself, but it seemed Rachel wanted to help her anyway. Feeling her fingers move across her felt really good.

"There you go, now you might not completely burn up.", Rachel said once she was done.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

"But I wanted to."

"Rachel? I think I want that massage at some point that we talked about."

"It would be my pleasure."

* * *

Heading back outside, they followed the tour guides to a small beach. The sand was a bit darker than Max expected, but it felt very smooth under her feet. After having been given a heads-up on what to expect and what not to do, they followed their guide into the water, who was also the trainer. They were told to form a line and hold on to their neighbor at all times for safety. Max wasn't really scared, she knew the sanctuary was separated by barriers from the sea, so no stray shark could enter here.

They didn't go too far in, with the water reaching just over Max's waist. It was refreshingly cool and felt very pleasant, however. In the distance, she could see the dolphins, but they were swimming so fast that it was hard to keep track of them.

Eventually, the group caught the attention of the pod and the dolphins came over to investigate their strange visitors. It was obvious that these animals were used to people, as they got very close right from the start. The trainer let the dolphins show off some of the tricks that they had learned, while he was holding on to a bucket of fish as rewards. Curiously, one of the dolphins seemed to take a particular interest in Max, as it stayed in her vicinity, circling around her and being very vocal while doing so.

The trainer noticed this as well.

"It seems she likes you!", he said. "That is a first, Alice usually doesn't get this close to anyone."

Alice, the dolphin, now performed some tricks of her own, doing a barrel roll as she swam by Max. The odd thing was that she hadn't been instructed to do so.

"I think you have made a friend there, Max!", Rachel said.

"She's cute."

"Alice is our youngest dolphin here, she was just born seven months ago. It is very unusual for her to be this social, it's a good sign!", the trainer said.

The other dolphins were also drawn over by this now, circling Max at high speeds. She could feel the water pushing against her feet from their movement, but she remained stable, her feet submerged in the sand.

"Look at Mrs. Popular over here. You say you don't like the ocean, Max? It clearly loves you.", Rachel said.

"If I wouldn't know any better, I would say that Alice just introduced me to her family.", Max said with joy.

"I think you may be right."

"Ok, we can now take pictures if you wish.", the trainer announced.

"Pictures with a dolphin? Want!", Max said out loud.

"This oughta be good.", Rachel remarked.

Pictures were taken by a photographer, two tourists at a time. Eventually, it was Max and Rachel's turn.

The dolphin they got to pose with was none other than Alice. Together, they got to hold on to the animal. Its skin didn't feel as smooth as Max had always imagined, feeling more like rubber than what she expected. The animal was a lovely shade of greyish-blue and not at all bothered by her touch. She could swear that Alice was looking her straight into the eyes. The final picture was a posed shot of each Rachel and then Max pretending to kiss the dolphin.

Once let go, Alice chirped away happily to the rest of her pod and the event was over.

Once dressed again, they were led to a hut that was selling all kinds of merchandise related to the island. This did include the pictures that were taken, Max figured those weren't going to be free.

"That's a hefty price tag on those pictures Rachel. What do you think?"

Rachel looked at the previews, that they could see on displayed monitors and seemed to think it over.

"I know they charge so much because they can, I mean where else are you gonna get pictures like that?", she replied.

"Pretty much nowhere?"

"Exactly, Max. If you want them, they are ours. We still have some money left in our budget and seeing how this is our final excursion, we might as well use it."

"Ok, it's agreed then."

Max went ahead and purchased their pictures, which they would get delivered straight to her email address.

* * *

They still had some time before the ship would leave today, so they decided to take a stroll along the beach for a while, making use of their time as much as they could.

"It is great here, but I don't think I could live here.", Max ended up saying.

"Don't get me wrong, Max, getting away from civilization for a while is tempting, but I agree. This is too far away for my liking.", Rachel agreed.

"That little dolphin was so cool, I don't think I've felt a connection with an animal like that in a while."

"I haven't seen anything quite like that myself. They really are more intelligent than most people give them credit for. I wonder if it knew that you were something special, Max."

"Am I really?"

Rachel stopped dead in her tracks and gave Max a glance.

"You are joking, right?"

"I don't feel special."

"You are special to me, nevermind the fact you used to be able to rewind time, travel through timelines and make such an impact on people. Sounds special to me."

"You are special too, Rachel."

"Just doing what I do, really. Although, lately I've been feeling like wanting to be a little less special if you know what I mean."

"We will discover your purpose Rachel, even it takes all of our lives to find out, I know you have your powers for a reason."

"Let's hope it won't take that long. At the rate my powers have been growing, I'm kinda worried about the future."

"They only get released if you get angry, right?"

"It seems that way."

Max was about to tell Rachel something when she got beaten to the punch.

"Max, I know what you are thinking right now. You were about to tell me that I need to exercise better self-control and find another outlet for my anger."

Once again, Rachel had read Max's mind like an open book.

"I wasn't gonna phrase it quite that bluntly, but yes that is more or less what I was about to say."

"Please don't treat me like a time bomb, Max. I know I must try to get better at it and I swear I will try my best. I feel like sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me and I do not wish a repeat of what happened yesterday and end up saying or doing something I regret."

"I can tell you a little mind trick that it might help."

"Whatcha got, oh Jedi Master?"

"It's something I used to do when I would get anxiety attacks with no opportunity to be by myself. Imagine a place in your mind, but not just any place. It must be somewhere where you would feel perfect tranquility and harmony. Focus your mind on that place and try to visualize it in your mind and then project yourself there. You can close your eyes too if that helps. If it works, you should feel mentally relaxed from that, blocking out the rest of the world.

"Fascinating suggestion, what do you call that?"

"I have no clue if there is an official word for it, but you could call it my "mental retreat" if you will."

"Thanks, Max, I will try that, should be worth a shot."

* * *

Back aboard the ship, they decided to stop by the pizza parlor on the promenade for their lunch. They were eating a bit late, so they decided to not fill up on pizza completely before stopping by their cabin for showers prior to formal night later on.

Max was about to enter the bathroom, having grabbed a new set of clothes including a black t-shirt with a moth artwork on it when Rachel suddenly stopped her.

"Wait a moment, Max."

"What is it?"

"I got an idea."

Rachel's tone betrayed the fact that she was up to something.

"An idea? For what?"

Rachel got up, with Max still standing there in confusion. She grabbed her own pile of clothes and walked up to Max, next to the bathroom.

"Oh, you wanna go first?", Max asked. "Sorry, I guess I should have asked."

Rachel chuckled.

"That's not what quite I have in mind, silly. I was wondering if you'd like some company in there, seeing how we've never tried that before."

Oh... I uh... yeah you are right, we have never done that before, haven't really thought about that.", Max said slightly nervously.

Rachel's eyes were glued to Max's and once more it felt like they were staring right into her soul. One calculating glance later, Rachel knew the truth.

"I believe I told you that I can tell the lie from the truth, Max."

"You... did."

"And my instinct is telling me that you are lying right now, you totally thought of this before, maybe even fantasized dare I say?"

Max was guilty as charged and there was no need to even admit it, her face and stature did that all for her.

"I knew it! Not that I blame you."

Rachel grabbed a couple of towels from a neat pile left by the room service.

"So what do you say? Care to join me?", she asked holding up the towels in one hand while reaching out to Max with the other.

Max thought to herself "why the hell not?" and took hold of Rachel's offered hand and followed her in. The only real problem was that this shower was very small. It was clearly built to be space-efficient and most certainly not for activities like these, leaving little to no room left once they were inside.

"That thing is _tiny_ , you know that right?", Max pointed out.

"You weren't afraid to get close to me before, why start now?", Rachel replied playfully.

"I'm just saying, if you hit your head in there or something, it's not gonna be my fault."

"I think that's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Alright, so long as we are clear on that."

Rachel went inside and got the water going, Max had yet to enter.

"Come on Maxter, I don't bite! Well, not too badly anyway, you are worse, I should know."

Once inside herself, Max had little to no room left to move, although the water running down on her felt nice regardless. What followed was probably the most awkward shower Max had ever taken as she constantly had to ask Rachel to pass on the shower supplies, seeing she couldn't reach them herself. Evidently, Rachel didn't seem to mind that at all. At one point the bar of soap she was about to pass back to Rachel slipped out of her hands a fell to the ground.

Instinctively, they both tried to reach for it at the same time.

" _OW_!"

Their heads made a rather uncomfortable contact and they might as well have headbutted each other.

"Ouch, that hurt.", Max said, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Once more she wished she could still rewind and undo this mishap.

"Next time, let's say something first.", Rachel suggested, trying not to laugh herself.

"I told you something like this was gonna happen!"

"Risk is part of everything in life."

Finally, without causing any further injury to herself or her partner somehow, Max got done cleaning up and Rachel seemed to be done as well.

"I'm not in a hurry to get out.", Max said.

"Funny, me neither, I wonder why that is.", Rachel mused.

"I have a theory as to why."

"Care to fill me in on that?"

Max knew exactly what Rachel was waiting for, the whole reason she brought this up in the first place. Instead of prolonging the inevitable any longer, she decided to just go for it and kissed Rachel.

"What do you think? Does this theory hold water?", Max asked afterward.

"I'm intrigued, do tell me more about it. By the way, that was an awful pun even by my standa..."

Rachel didn't get to finish her sentence and Max promptly shut her up with another kiss, now holding her close. Max's senses felt amplified, taking in every aspect of this sensation. She didn't stop for what felt like a good minute or two, it felt that great.

"I think your theory shows promise.", Rachel said with a wide smile.

Upon leaving the shower again, Max did feel a sense of relief of having room to stretch her arms again and she dried herself with a towel.

"So? Did you enjoy that?", Rachel asked.

"Yeah, but that thing is too small for both of us."

"I'm not making you do that again, no worries. I just didn't wanna wait until we got home once I got the idea in my head."

"It felt very nice though, minus that accident."

"We will find a bigger shower next time. That would also give us room for...shall I say... further experiments?"

"Let me know if you need any volunteers."

"I will remember that you said that."

"Rachel its almost 5 PM, we might as well slip right into our dresses. I didn't notice it was this late already."

"Good call."

* * *

After getting all dressed and ready for their evening, Max had a request to make.

"Rachel?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"I wanna check out one of these other restaurants on the ship, I don't care if we have to pay for it."

"How come? I mean the dining room is pretty damn amazing considering it's free and all."

"I know, but I want to eat somewhere where it's a bit less crowded. We never got to do that candlelight dinner we promised ourselves on the day of our wedding and this might just be the best opportunity for it."

"Sounds lovely! I believe we have some room credit that we can still use as well, so it shouldn't hurt too badly."

They did find a good place to eat at, a fancy steak restaurant that came with a cover charge. To them, it seemed worth it, however.

Sitting down at a table they found themselves almost alone, as there were only a few guests around. This was exactly the kind of intimate setting that Max always had in mind. The room was dark, but not pitch-black and the candles enveloped everything nearby in a pleasant glow.

"I'm totally going for that filet mignon.", Max said.

"I think I will second that.", Rachel said in agreement.

Waiting for their food, Max found herself mesmerized by Rachel. It didn't take long for her to notice.

"I never saw you stare at me like that, are you ok, Max?"

"Huh?", Max snapped out of her stupor.

"You were staring at me in a peculiar way."

"Oh, you just look so pretty in this light, makes me wish I could take a picture."

"You could use my phone, I did bring that in case you wanted pictures."

"That will work."

Following Max's instructions, Rachel posed for her.

"Got it, let's see how this turned out.", Max said after taking the picture, now looking for the result.

"Wowser.", she uttered upon seeing it.

"I take it you are happy?"

"Very happy, you look stunning. I don't even want a filter on this one."

"You are very pretty yourself."

Their food had arrived and it smelled intoxicating.

After taking a few bites, Max quickly realized that this was easily the best steak she had in her whole life.

"This is awesome!", she said in between bites.

Rachel with her mouth full just nodded in agreement.

After filling up on their food, Max felt herself being in a moment of perfect happiness and she then placed her hand on Rachel's.

"A part of me still can't believe this is really happening.", Max admitted.

"You mean this trip?"

"Not just that, I mean all of this. Every night I go to bed I'm worried that I'm gonna wake up in my old dorm room and you will be gone again."

"Oh, Max..."

"I still feel sad about what happened to Chloe, but the thought of her realizing what happened to you? That wasn't acceptable to me either."

"I know you had no reason to choose me over her that day."

"I had a reason. If I had left I would have risked erasing all of this and undo it all. Our love, your wedding, this amazing trip... and you. I don't think I could live with knowing that."

"Even though I'm so much trouble?"

"Even then. I kinda wish in hindsight I would have gotten to meet you sooner. I wonder sometimes what would have happened if I hadn't moved to Seattle when I did. I would have been there when you appeared in Chloe's life and maybe, just maybe, we could have both helped her to become something better than she ended up being. I look at us now and I know we could have made that work."

"You have truly grown up, haven't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't use to talk like that. I know I said it before, but I am truly proud of you, Max. I'm eternally grateful to be with you."

"Same."

"Maybe I ought to introduce to you to Megan again. I know your first meeting didn't go well at all, but I didn't know that she hung with Kate... or my mom for that matter. I kinda relate to you when it comes to her."

"How so?"

"Megan and I were good friends a few years back before you and I met. We weren't together or anything, she wasn't into girls and made that quite clear, but nonetheless, we did stuff together like seeing Firewalk."

"What happened?"

Rachel looked down at her drink.

"She got kicked out of Blackwell, she couldn't fit in it seemed, even though I tried my best to help her, but it was in vain. Eventually, she stopped coming to school and that's the last I heard of her until we ran into her again that fateful day when we looked for your friend Kate.", she said.

"I don't want to sound mean, but at least your friend is alive, right?", Max pointed out.

"She is. And she's done a great deed by uniting me with my mom, even if it was without my consent or knowledge. I never got to thank her for that in person and I regret that."

"We should totally do something with her."

"Perhaps we should, as long as she doesn't mind me making out with you that is."

"She looks tough, I don't think that would faze her."

"I will ask her when we get back, I still have her phone number."

"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Leaving the restaurant again, they spent their evening strolling through the promenade, checking out the art gallery on their way back to their cabin once they were done.

"This was a perfect evening.", Max said to Rachel once they got inside.

"It was.", Rachel said in agreement.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, today was like my ideal therapy."

"I'm glad, too bad we only have one more day on this thing."

"Let's make the most of it."

"Yes, let's. But I gotta sleep first, I'm all tuckered out."

When they went to bed to sleep, Max felt almost weightless in the comfort of it. For once, everything seemed alright with the world.

She reached over, kissing Rachel goodnight.

"Sweet dreams, my angel.", she whispered in her ear.


	27. Carpe Diem

Rachel found herself in the dark forest once again. Around her, a flock of twenty or more ravens was assembled, some circling her in flight, some perched on rocks, all staring at her.

"What do you want from me?", she asked.

They croaked in response, the noise almost deafening.

"I don't understand what it is you are trying to tell me!"

Then, she witnessed an image appear out of thin air. Rachel saw her father, with his back turned to her.

"Dad?!", she said, reaching out to him.

He did not respond. It was only now that Rachel noticed that he wasn't alone. Another figure was behind him, shrouded in darkness. Rachel could not make out who or what it was.

The sound of an what sounded like an explosion of some kind rang through the air and the birds took off flying in panic, as Rachel felt herself falling and then awakening from her nightmare.

She was bathed in sweat, gasping for air.

"Rachel, are you ok?", Max asked with concern and came right to her side. She had been up already and apparently let her sleep in.

"Another nightmare. This was one was worse."

"What did you see?", Max asked.

"More ravens, but this time my dad appeared and... someone or something else, I couldn't tell. I heard a loud noise and then I felt myself falling... then I woke up.", she said still shaking.

"It's alright, you are safe now."

"Max... did I just see the future? You know, like you predicted that tornado last year?"

"I hope not, whatever it was you saw it didn't sound good."

"Those birds... I know they were trying to tell me something if only I knew what the hell they are trying to say. And what does this have to do with my dad?! Wait a minute..."

A thought had formed in Rachel's mind, an assumption so dark she didn't want it to be true.

"Oh no..."

"What?"

"That other figure could have been my mom! He's been trying to get her out of the way since the beginning, who's to say he won't murder her or me in cold blood with a gun?!"

Max shook her head in disagreement.

"No fucking way, I refuse to believe he would go that far. Your dad made grave mistakes but I'd like to think he learned from that. His motive had always been to protect you, I don't see him harming you like that."

Rachel's inner fire was stirring once more.

"If he lays a finger on her or me, he'd better watch his back.", she said coldly.

"Rachel, you are jumping to conclusions! You have no idea what you have exactly seen! These visions aren't always accurate!"

Just as Rachel was about to emotionally detonate, she caught herself, remembering what Max had told her the previous day and instead shut her eyes.

She forced her mind to picture a place far away from what she had seen, the most pleasant location she could think of and forget about the assumption she just made. In her mind, she found herself in a lush valley, full of trees, a mighty river, and waterfalls. By focusing on the sound of the running water and blocking out everything else, she managed to douse the flames in her heart, letting out a deep breath while doing so.

"I'm ok.", she said afterward.

"What was that you just did?", Max asked confused.

"It was your idea, remember? I tried it just now and it worked."

"I'm so glad, I would hate a repeat of what we had the other day."

"You and me both. Thanks, Max, once again I owe you."

"I'm not keeping count and neither should you.", Max replied, putting her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "My help to you comes with no conditions."

"Same, I no longer behave the way I used to."

"What do you mean?"

"Max, for all the hate I gave my counterpart, one thing I cannot deny. Once upon a time I used to trade favors and used all kinds of manipulative tricks to get my way or influence the decisions of others. Sometimes, that involved causing harm too."

"You hurt people?"

"Not so much hurting in a literal sense. Remember I told you that playing Prospera in the Tempest was my favorite role of all time?"

"I do. You told me that on the day we met."

"Well, originally Victoria was supposed to get the role, I was merely an understudy for her in case she would be sick or something, but she wasn't that day."

"And yet... you played the role in the end?"

"Yup, right before the show was about to begin, I went backstage, dosed her tea with muscle relaxant and knocked her the fuck out."

Max chuckled.

"Why is that funny, Max?"

"It's Victoria, how bad can I possibly feel about that after drenching her in water and then in paint myself just to get into my dorm?"

"You did?!"

"Oh yes, you should have seen her face!"

"But you had an alternative option, right?", Rachel asked.

"I could have fought my way through her and her Vortex posse, but I didn't feel confrontational that morning, plus I was too scared."

"Max, I could have simply swallowed my pride and accepted her in the role. Instead, I destroyed her chance of being a star for my own benefit. I don't feel particularly proud of that now in hindsight."

"When you phrase it like that... yeah, that was kind of wrong of you to do."

"Just one of many things I had done before you came along to straighten me out and show me that isn't always the best to give in to your anger and jealousy. I know that if I had put all of my efforts into my own performance, instead of worrying about her, I could have gotten that role legitimately."

Max gave Rachel the picture she took of her the day before.

"This is who you are right now and it is who you are to me.", Max said pointing at Rachel in the picture, which showed her offering the child a water bottle the day before.

Looking at the photo, Rachel remembered what she had felt the moment it was taken. She didn't even consider her deed to be a big deal, merely the right thing to do at the time.

"So you see, Rachel? People can change for the better. If you consider how much you have changed since the day you pulled that number on Victoria, don't you think you aren't the only one who can? I can't really see you sabotaging someone else at this point, not over something as trivial as that."

She understood what Max was implying. Without a doubt, she was referring to her parents. Sera, her mom, made big mistakes once, big enough to threaten Rachel's own life, but after seeing her improve and meeting her for the first time, Rachel didn't hold that against her anymore. Could she have reconciled with her dad at this point though?

"Max, I appreciate what you are trying to do, I mean it. But when it comes to my dad and me, I feel like all bridges have been burned."

"I know you feel that way, and I wouldn't ever dare make you do something you do not wish to."

"Are you a psychiatrist in your spare time, Max?"

"No, I'm not that good, I'm just doing what I can to help you through this."

"My counterpart was wrong about you. Dead wrong."

"Do I even wanna know what the previous Rachel thought of me?"

"I might as well tell you."

"I'm listening."

"She knew about you having left Chloe behind and she was not happy about it."

"Shit, I figured."

"She called me a fool for trusting you. Told me that one day, you would wound up doing the same thing to me."

"Rachel, not in a million years would I do that. I'd rather die at this point."

"That's why I blew her off, she didn't know you like I do. You made a mistake and learned from it. I admit that I had my concerns about this back when we initially got together but after all this time, I no longer have a shadow of a doubt. I also want you to know that I will not disappear either, not if I got something to say about it."

"Your trust means a lot to me. I think it is all too evident that your counterpart never had someone she could truly trust, other than Chloe. That is so sad."

"I do wanna talk to her again, more than anything I want answers."

"Answers?"

"Yes, I must know why she did what she did, and I'm not letting her off the hook until she spills the beans."

"If you think that's the right thing to do, then I'm not gonna stop you."

"I can't wait to confront her again, but I will be more diplomatic this time, might have to be more like you for that."

"I'm flattered. Wanna head out to eat now?"

"Yeah, let's, I'm hella hungry anyway."

* * *

After a scrumptious breakfast, they decided to check out the pool area one more time. They hadn't gotten around to trying the big slides yet and they were very inviting, being so big they went all around the aft part of the ship, before dropping its riders into a landing pool. Together, they approached the stairs leading up to the start of one of the slides.

"These look intense, who goes first?", Rachel asked.

"When in the doubt, the person who asked.", Max answered.

"Very well then."

After waiting for a while, it was finally their turn and Rachel got in position.

"See you on the other side!", she called out, before going down the pipe and disappearing from view.

Max held on to a large metallic bar and got herself into starting position. She could feel her heart beat ever faster in anticipation. The slide had a light system in place, not dissimilar to a traffic sign. As it turned green, she went down the pipe as fast as she could. It had been a while that she been in a pipe like this and it was an odd sensation and the near complete lack of light added to her feeling of tension. After a series of harrowing turns, she eventually saw the light of the exit, where she was literally dumped into a pool of water. It was a good thing this wasn't a competition, as her sudden exit was anything but graceful.

"There you are, my little mermaid.", she could hear Rachel say.

Max swam over to her and followed her out of the water.

"Nice landing by the way.", Rachel remarked, subduing her laughter.

"Yeah and I bet you landed like a graceful swan on the Thames."

"Hey, you said it, not me! But I won't let the queen of England own _me_ , that's for sure."

After going down the slides another two times, they ended up near another attraction, a pool with a strong current that simulated an ocean wave where one had to get on a surfboard and try to stay on.

"Ten bucks says you are too much of chicken to try that!", Rachel teased Max.

"Nobody... calls me... chicken!", Max responded.

"Nice reference there Maxter, but I'm still waiting for you to prove it!"

"Fine, watch me."

Max knew this was most likely about to go horribly wrong, but she didn't care and awaited her turn. Once on the board and holding on the line, the water came rushing at her and immediately her balance was thrown off, resulting in her unceremoniously being carried away by the current after she fell rather clumsily. Rachel, naturally, was laughing her head off in amusement as she watched.

"That was like a whole four seconds you lasted, not bad!"

"You dared me to do it, I never claimed to be good at it."

"Fair enough, I eat my words, you are not a chicken."

"Thank you."

"But you crash like one!"

"I should spank you for saying that."

"Ooh-la-la, right out here in front of everyone?"

"I got a better idea actually, _you_ get on that board and see how long you last."

Rachel's grin only widened hearing that.

"Alright, I guess it's time I show you grommets how it's done!", Rachel boasted.

"I hope you crash and burn.", Max teased.

Rachel's confidence was through the roof, that much was for sure. But considering how most surfers did on that board, Max didn't see Rachel last much longer. She was horribly mistaken, however.

Once Rachel was on the board, she rode the waves like it was second nature to her, totally showing off her skills to everyone watching. She didn't even seem to try very hard, making it look so easy, Max had just remained staring in awe. Rachel's graceful surfing didn't escape the attention of fellow passengers either.

As the first surfer that Max had witnessed this whole time, Rachel lasted all the way until the pool's timer ran out and the water subsided again.

"Nice moves!", they could hear people say while other's applauded and cheered.

Rachel took that all in with satisfaction of course and walked up to Max who remained there standing petrified. She glanced at her with her arms crossed and raised an eyebrow.

"So, you were saying something about me crashing and burning, do I remember that correctly?", Rachel said full of glee.

"Just what... what are you?", Max said in disbelief.

"I have been surfing since I was a kid, you should have remembered the fact that I grew up in Long Beach! You are silly Max, of course do I know how to surf! What kind of Cali girl would I be otherwise?"

"But you make that look so easy!"

"That's because it was, well to me anyway, but you haven't been on a surfboard in your life have you?"

"Nope and it showed."

"But you did it try, that's brave considering you must have known you were most likely gonna fail, I respect that."

"I bow to your amazing skills.", Max said gesturing accordingly.

"Chin up, Max, you need not bow to me."

Together they entered the main pool area.

"That is one big ass screen! Holy shit!", Max exclaimed, upon spotting a screen that must have been over 200 square feet in size, mounted right above the pool. Somehow it must have escaped her attention before.

"That does look pretty awesome.", Rachel said in agreement.

"No, we aren't getting one of those.", Max said.

"Hey! I didn't say anything!"

"I know how you think, you are just like Chloe when it comes to that."

"Or maybe she and I just have good taste? Ever thought of that?"

"Sure, where would you put that thing anyway?"

"I would put it out in the open and have people pay us to come watch stuff."

"Of course."

"Yeah, I would turn the junkyard into a drive-in theater."

Max went ahead and into the pool, mentally prepared for its cool water this time. She turned around and saw Rachel standing by the edge and commenced to splash water at her before she had a chance to get in.

"That's for the last time you did that to me.", she said.

"You are evil when you want to be, did anyone ever tell you that Max?"

"I learned from the best", Max said shrugging her shoulders.

Together with Rachel, Max swam and dove a few rounds through the pool, interrupted only by a brief tickle attack by Rachel who got her back for splashing water on her. Eventually, Rachel had swum to the border and rested her arms on the edge, Max having joined her shortly after.

"I'm going to miss this ship.", she said.

"Me too, but we had a great time here, right?"

"We did, we really did."

"What do you wanna do tonight?", Max asked.

"I wouldn't mind checking out a movie out on that big screen tonight if there is one, what do you say?"

"Let's check the schedule when we get outta here, I hear the hot tub calling my name right now."

"Yes please!"

* * *

Getting out of the cold water and getting into the hot tub felt like a difference of night and day. They chose one that no one else had occupied.

Rachel faced the horizon with her thoughts on what they she was in for when she returned. She had left behind unfinished business, but yet a part of her wished she could remain here forever.

Tears came running down her face and Max noticed immediately.

"Are you ok? I didn't make you mad or anything did I?", Max asked concerned.

"No, Max, not at all, it's quite the contrary actually."

"What is it?"

"I'm seriously going to miss this is all. It doesn't feel right that this week flew by as fast as it did. I don't think I have ever been so happy before and I'm afraid to lose that joy when we return home."

"We will always have our memories at least."

"That we will, and this was the most incredible honeymoon I could have asked for. It really was worth the wait."

"When we get back, making sure you are happy will always remain my top priority. as for this adventure? It's not quite over yet, let's enjoy this for now. Come here."

Max had reached out her arm to Rachel so she could lay her arm around her. Rachel made herself comfortable and together they gazed the horizon.

"Max, you are real right?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course, I am."

"It's just that sometimes I can't quite believe it like you are too awesome for me. Like I don't deserve you."

"I could say the same thing about you. When I met you, I couldn't believe my eyes."

"That must have been weird."

"It was, I only ever knew you from Chloe's posters and a few pictures she kept. For a while you were just someone I could imagine in my mind, having only a single picture for reference."

"Am I anything like what you imagined me to be?"

"No, you are so much more."

Hearing that made Rachel feel warm inside and it had nothing to do with the water.

"Who would have thought a chance encounter in an MMO with thousands of people in it would lead me to you?", Rachel said.

"Who would have thought I would end up finding you in an alternate universe or timeline?", Max asked in return.

Suddenly, while glancing at the waters below through the glass, Rachel spotted something extraordinary.

"Max! Max! Look down there, is that what I think it is? Oh my god!"

Max turned to see what Rachel got so excited about. What she beheld took her breath away.

"Holy shit!"

A pair of humpback whales swam near the surface of the ocean parallel to the ship some distance away, but still clearly visible. Their massive hulks gracefully passing through the water.

"Those are so cool! I have never seen them like this.", Rachel said.

"Admiral, there be whales here!", Max quoted a movie line, trying to put on a Scottish accent.

"Star Trek IV The Voyage Home?", Rachel asked with inquisitive eyes.

"That's the one. Wait a minute, you watched that?"

"I'm well versed remember? I always loved seeing those whales in that one."

"Me too."

"I say we call them George and Gracie."

"No argument from me, Rachel."

While the cruise ship eventually left behind "George" and "Gracie" in its wake, the encounter had both Max and Rachel feel ecstatic for a while.

"I don't care who you are, that was a good omen.", Max declared.

"I agree. Makes a change after seeing all those dead whales on our beaches last year, doesn't it?", Rachel said.

"Very much so, I felt so bad for those."

"Ok, I'm just about soaked to the bone here, are you ready to get out?", Rachel asked.

"I'm good, let's head back. Considering we are gonna be watching a movie out here tonight, I think I had enough water for now."

* * *

Back at their cabin, Max fell on the bed like dead weight as soon she got her clothes back on, feeling utterly exhausted.

"I feel so drained.", she complained.

"That was that hot water, it will do that to you, great sleeping aid I reckon."

"Rachel..."

"Yes, dear?"

"I want that massage. _Right_. _Now_.", Max said with her face still buried in her pillow.

Rachel chuckled at Max's antics.

"Let me see if I can do this. This is my first time doing this, so say something if I mess up and hurt you ok?"

"Will do."

Max took her shirt off and laid down again.

Sitting on top of Max now, Rachel got started, even though she had no idea how to actually go about it and just followed her instincts and did whatever she thought she might enjoy herself in Max's place.

Going by how much Max was moaning, she seemed to be doing something right.

"I should have asked you for this ages ago.", Max said.

"You did, but we kept forgetting about it. Remember your back injury?"

"Right, that. I guess we did sorta forget about it after that."

"I almost wanna ask you to give me one in return."

"Why don't you?"

"Good question, why don't I? Can I get one when I'm done with you?"

"Of course, just make sure I don't fall asleep again, I don't wanna miss a minute of this day."

The touch of Max's silky smooth skin felt nice to Rachel as well, Max wasn't the only one who greatly enjoyed this. After another ten minutes, Rachel was done.

"My turn now, Maxter."

No response came.

"Ha, I knew it.", Rachel whispered to herself.

Max did, in fact, fall asleep again and Rachel had to wake her as per her request.

"I will be right back, don't you go anywhere.", she whispered before leaving the room. Rachel went to one of the drink stands on the ship that handed out water to drink at all times for no charge and got herself two glasses before she returned to their room.

She set the glasses on the table and took one of them, fishing an ice cube out of it with her hand. She wouldn't have much time before it would melt from her body heat.

With a grin, she placed the ice cube on Max's exposed back and moved it around. It didn't take very long for Max to notice.

"Holy hell, what is that?!", Max yelled waking up.

Rachel was cracking up from laughter.

"Is that ice!? You are so devious Rachel Amber!"

"You didn't tell me how to wake you, so I had to... _improvise_."

"You could have just shaken me, said something or used freaking anything but _ICE_!"

"Sorry, it was the first thing I thought of, honest!"

"You know what? I actually believe you!"

A moment later, the ice cube was gone.

"That... actually felt kinda neat in hindsight.", Max admitted.

"See? I do have good ideas. Now, it's my turn I believe."

"One tiny little big problem.", Max said.

"What?"

"I... I can't move. I'm too relaxed now."

"Oh, so you are saying you are completely defenseless and I can have my way with you?"

"Don't you dare put more ice on me."

"A tempting thought, but I wouldn't be as satisfying as that first time when you weren't expecting it."

"Or you could simply wait until I get up?"

"I suppose I could, but then again, that would be boring. I've got a better idea."

Rachel laid down next to Max and started moving her fingers across her back while being very gentle doing so.

"That tickles, are you trying to find my weak spots?"

"Let's face it, Max, anywhere near your sides is a weak spot."

As she kept moving her finger around, she noticed how Max suddenly had goosebumps on her skin.

"That feels so good, you are spoiling me.", Max proclaimed.

"You aren't the only one enjoying this my dear. Too bad you are so tuckered out, I could think of so many wonderful things we could do right now.", Rachel said with a lustful glance at Max's exposed body.

"Of course you'd think about that, I think I shall give you your turn now."

"As if you didn't think about that yourself just now."

They traded position after Rachel had taken off her shirt.

"I'm kind of a first-time masseuse as well, so bear that in mind.", Max said.

"Just go for it, that approach worked for me."

Even though Rachel couldn't see what Max was doing, that didn't change the fact that it felt amazing.

"Am I doing this right?", Max asked.

"You can use a bit more force, but yes that is good."

"Ok, let me try."

It worked, although Max hadn't expected to hear the sounds Rachel made in response.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you can purr like a cat?"

"I'm a Leo. I have a right to!"

"Well, technically you are a Cancer-Leo cusp. What does that make you? A crab-lion?"

"I'm a Leo.", Rachel said bluntly.

"Someone doesn't like their crab side it seems. There, how's that?"

"Much better, thanks."

"So? How well did I do?", Max asked.

Instead of responding, Rachel turned herself around, leaned herself up and gave Max's neck a playful mix between a kiss and a bite.

"That good huh?", she said in surprise, eyes locked with Rachel.

"Suffice to say, you got me excited. But maybe this is too soon after all, so instead, I think I will give you something to look forward to tonight.", Rachel said winking.

"Then I will wait, hard as that is quite frankly."

"That really did feel pretty good though, I may make more requests in the future."

"I would gladly oblige."

They got dressed again and then had a look at the schedule for the day.

"They are showing the new "Godzilla" tonight.", Max said.

"Isn't that the new American one?"

"It is, I'm pretty sure."

"I don't know, the last attempt kinda sucked at being Godzilla if you ask me."

"Rachel, that was 16 years ago, I'm sure they learned their lesson from that one."

"Did you know they sold the rights to the 1998 monster to the Japanese?"

"They did?"

"Oh yes. And guess what? They only bought it so they can have the monster killed off immediately after by the real Godzilla as soon as their next movie.

"Wow, someone took that personally."

"I don't blame them, let's hope this new one is better."

"We still got some time until then, it won't start until 8 PM."

"Max, I wanna see the sundown one more time, if you don't mind."

"I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world."

"Early dinner then?"

"Seems that way."

"By the way, you haven't turned in your prize yet."

"Which prize?"

"You won the card game remember? You pulled a miracle out of your butt and became queen of the dragons. The deal was that you would choose the next game we play."

"Ok, I got one already and we don't even need to go anywhere for it.", Max said.

"Oh?"

"I don't have a name for it, but I have the rules figured out."

"I'm all ears, always willing to learn another game!", Rachel said in anticipation.

"I took a page from your book for this one. We each make three statements about ourselves to the other person. The other person must then answer which of these are indeed true or false and whoever guessed the most statements correctly wins. The difference between this and your game is that all three statements can be lies or truths or a mix.

"An interesting take on Two Truths and a Lie. Let's play!"

"Ok, I will start and give you my three statements.", Max said.

"Got it."

"Ok, first one. I used to wear your signature clothes after Chloe gave them to me, including your jeans, shirt, top, and flannel."

Rachel smiled at the thought.

"Second one. Final Fantasy The Spirits Within is my favorite movie."

Rachel thought to herself, that this must have been a lie, but Max sounded too sincere.

"And finally, I never turned in a photo for the Every Heroes contest where I come from."

Rachel tried reading Max's face, but to her dismay, Max had gotten better at not giving away what was on her mind. For once, she was stumped. She went based on instinct and what she knew about Max.

"You look good in my clothes and I can imagine Chloe keeping them, plus you are my size so... truth!", Rachel decided.

"You are right! In fact, the day we met, you wore the exact same clothes I wore in my old reality right before I left it.", Max said.

"Get outta here! So you are telling me you cosplayed as me?!"

"Totally, felt like a boss too. Everyone even confused me with you at first glance."

Rachel cracked up laughing.

"That... is so cool, but weird. But mostly cool. Well anyway, now on to your Final Fantasy movie choice. I know you are into that stuff, but really? That one? My gut tells me you are truthful about it though.

"I am."

"Wow, Max."

"Hey, I don't judge your favorites!"

"It's all good, whatever floats your boat."

"Subtle pun right there."

"And finally the entry you supposedly never turned in. I'm assuming that would have happened earlier then. I know you are a perfectionist when it comes to your pictures plus you were kinda shy back then. Truth again."

"Got me there. Damn you are good at this."

"That means you told me nothing but the truth every time. Aw... it's like you don't want to have any secrets from me, that's quite charming actually.", Rachel said smiling.

"I guess I wanted to see how well you know me, no surprise, you nailed all three of them. Now it's your turn!"

"Alright, Maxter, let's see how well you know me. My first one... let's see..."

Rachel thought about how badly she wanted to mess with Max.

"Ok, first is this. I've had my bracelet for as long I could remember until you got it from me as a gift of course. Second, I once stole a bottle of wine from a bunch of picnickers at a park to get wasted. Third, the first R-rated film I saw was The Terminator.", Rachel said, making her statements.

Max seemed deep in thought, trying to figure out Rachel's facial expressions. It was an interesting feeling for Rachel to be probed like this but she still put on her best poker face.

"Ok, Rachel, let me get this straight. That bracelet is great and considering what significance it had to both you, me and Chloe, I call truth on it."

"You are correct, I don't even remember when I got it, to be honest, it's kind of always been with me for as far as I can remember. I already had it when I still lived in Long Beach.", Rachel admitted.

"You getting wasted though? Being a naughty girl stealing from unsuspecting picnickers? You would need a good reason for that, but I still call truth."

"Got me again, Maxter."

"Ha, why did you do that?"

"That was the day I had found out that my dad lied to me. After doing a number on the living room like I told you, I went to the park to be alone and came across some people who should have paid more attention to their stuff. I was so pissed, that I didn't feel bad about taking that bottle of theirs to drown my sorrows. Well, not at first anyway."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that."

"I was a bit of a closet-delinquent once upon a time, but you steered me right again."

"I'm glad I did that then. Well as for your third statement, The Terminator is a classic, but I know you don't have it. Then again, you claim to like Back to the Future and you don't have that either. This one is tough, but I will go with a lie!"

"She strikes again!", Rachel exclaimed.

"So what was your first R-rated film then?", Max asked.

"It was True Lies. So it was a Schwarzenegger-movie, just not the one I mentioned."

"That's a good one, the way that bad guy got "fired" from the jet was hilarious."

"I know, its got so many laugh-out-loud moments. I was eight or nine when I saw it, having snuck it from my parent's DVD stash one night when they were out of the house. If only I had understood that it was a sign of things to come."

"It was kinda ironic, I gotta admit."

"Well, by my count Maxter, we are even. Neither of us won this time."

"Kinda fitting. I also noticed you stuck with your familiar pattern."

"Pattern?"

"You told me two true facts and one false one, I had a feeling you would stick to your guns."

"You've got me all figured out I see, I'm impressed. What is the time anyway?"

"It is 2 PM."

"Wanna hit the buffet?", Rachel asked.

"Yeah, better late than never."

After trying to get as much out of the varied buffet as possible, trying not miss any hidden food gems, they still had a few hours left.

"I wanna play Dominion again.", Max said.

"That is the game I'm best at, I accept your challenge."

"I did learn the cards a bit in the meantime."

"Oh? Did you conduct research behind my back on how to beat me?"

"I might, we will have to wait and see."

"You are on, let's meet in the card room."

* * *

While Max was getting them water to drink, Rachel got the game from their room and she commenced to go to deck 10. Upon her arrival, Max had secured them a table, the only one available, as the rest of the room was packed with other passengers looking to pass the time.

Going into the game, Rachel followed her usual winning strategy, manipulating her draws to ensure a steady stream of repeated action cards to amass a ton of money to buy her victory points later. Max's strategy, however, threw her for a loop.

"Someone has done more than just study the game, you studied how I play too.", Rachel stated.

"I have and this strategy of mine is both fun and evil."

The most important thing was that it worked. Max's approach was to fill Rachel's deck with useless Ruin and Curse cards. The Ruins were just weak action cards that no player would ever want and the Curses would count against victory points as well as clutter the opponent's hand. Max was effectively sabotaging Rachel's deck the further the game went.

"I really should have put up "Remodel" as a card for this game.", Rachel said in frustration.

"So you can recycle the junk I give you? Yeah, that isn't happening.", Max said.

Over an hour and a frustrating game later, Max declared her victory.

"And the last Province card is mine. Game over!"

"You are a hell of a gamer, do you know that, Max?"

"That's what happens when I have you as a teacher and as an opponent, I rise to the challenge!"

Rachel was satisfied, finally, she had met someone who could stand up to her in virtually every game she desired to play.

* * *

Going out for the final dinner on the cruise, they sat down in their familiar dining room again. While Rachel herself didn't want to miss out the chance for lobster tail, Max decided to get a fancy pasta dish she had never heard of. It was Rigatoni dish with a white-wine reduction sauce among other ingredients neither of them ever had.

After taking her first bite, Max's eyes went wide in astonishment.

"Rachel... I'm terribly, terribly sorry for what I'm about to say."

"Oh?"

"This is the best pasta ever, on this planet and the whole universe. Seriously, you gotta try this."

Rachel took a bite herself and it blew her mind.

"Wow, that _is_ incredible! Yeah, I cannot compare to that... yet. I will try to replicate this, but no promises Max. I can only imagine how much work must have gone into this recipe...", she said.

"Yeah, I doubt they will share it, man I have to try so hard to enjoy this without devouring it within seconds."

Later, it was time for dessert. Sergio, their dedicated waiter that has been tending to their needs all week long, handed out the menu for it.

"Max, red alert."

"What is wrong?"

"There is no Chocolate Sensation on here!", Rachel said with a pout.

"Rachel, I think it might be good we are getting off this ship soon."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because we are utterly spoiled."

"Not yet, Max, I intend to get the most out of this while I can."

As Sergio returned, Rachel could not resist the temptation and asked him about her desired dessert.

"I will check with the kitchen, just a moment.", he said.

She noticed Max shaking her head ever so slightly.

"I saw that, Maxter."

"You really are a queen, having everyone doing your bidding and stuff.", Max said.

"If you and I are to be the queens of the Caribbean, we might as well conduct ourselves accordingly."

"Oh dear, what have I done bringing you here?"

"Fulfilled my greatest wish and having been the best company I could possibly ask for?"

"I love you too."

When Sergio returned, he did bring Rachel her Chocolate Sensation, which he was able to find after all. Rachel made sure to thank him properly.

"The sun is going down.", Max said once they finished.

"Ready when you are.", Rachel responded.

"Let's go."

* * *

On deck, they laid down on the same kind of lounge chairs as before, taking in the fading daylight. Over time, Rachel noticed something.

"Wow, Max, are you feeling that?"

"I do, the ship is moving a lot."

"Seems like rough waters ahead."

Deep down Rachel wondered if this was a sign of some kind. Their return home was imminent and she was concerned about meeting her father again. All this time away from him was utterly liberating and it had felt so good to not have to worry about him for a while. Max made a good point about people being able to change, but at this point, Rachel doubted that James could ever do or say anything to earn that level of trust again. And then there was her dream. What was it's meaning?

"Max, I don't think we can ever top this trip.", Rachel ended up saying.

"Maybe we can't, maybe we will. Only the future can tell us."

"I'm concerned about the future."

"You aren't alone, Rachel. I promise you that we will face it together though, no matter what."


	28. Burning Questions

Leaving the Tempest of the Seas was one of the hardest things Rachel ever had to do with Max. Their time there was nothing short of perfect, a true getaway like she had dreamed of her whole life, but like all good things, it eventually came to an end.

Feeling sentimental all the way off the ship, Rachel tried to embrace the feeling of joy that she had felt back there and she insisted that Max took one more picture of them with the ship, for memory's sake.

Their flight home was nothing amazing, but at least Max seemed to deal with it a bit better this time around, now knowing what to expect. In general, everything seemed to progress without problems and they made it to Portland, where Rose picked them up.

Approaching her, a part of Rachel wasn't sure how to act, but in the end, she couldn't help but give her a hug regardless and she felt glad that she did, with Max having done the same.

On their way home, they spent the whole time talking about the things they have done on the ship and the sights they saw. They told her how Max befriended a dolphin, how they would compete endlessly and about the submarine tour among other highlights.

* * *

By the time they got home, it was already the early afternoon. This was the moment that Rachel was concerned about though: running into her dad again. Previously, she had mostly ignored him while she and Max were living with them following her graduation.

Entering the Amber residence, Rachel found her father going over crime reports in his office. He noticed them coming in and came out to greet them.

"Rachel, Max, it is good to see you again. I take it your vacation was everything you hoped for?", he asked.

"It was great.", Max said.

"It was.", Rachel said quietly, looking at the floor.

James must have noticed her awkward stance and tone, but if he did, he didn't show it.

"You must be hungry, if there is something, in particular, you want for dinner tonight, let Rose know. Though I'm sure we can't quite compete with the cruise ship's kitchen.", James said.

"I'm not picky.", Rachel replied, still unwilling to look her father in the eye.

Bringing their luggage to her room and putting everything up took a good long while, with the fun part being to choose where to put the things they bought. Like she said she would, Rachel put the statue of the red dragon on her desk.

"Looks good.", Max remarked.

"I do like it, but man, am I tired. I couldn't sleep at all on the plane this time.", Rachel said.

"Me neither, do you wanna take a nap or something? It's still fairly early in the day.", Max suggested.

At that moment, Rachel realized that this was the perfect opportunity to do what she had been contemplating for days.

"Yes, I think I will take that nap, but not here."

"Not here? Where else then?"

"Max, there is someone I intend to pay a visit."

Max seemed to understand what Rachel was getting at.

"I see. I will not get in your way."

"Thank you. I must do this alone, I hope you understand that."

"I do. Say hi to the other one if you see her if she's nice that is."

"I will. I will text you when I'm on my way back."

She turned to leave the room and get underway.

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

* * *

Leaving Max behind felt wrong to her, but there was nothing she could do here. This encounter that was about to take place would only occur in her mind, assuming what she had witnessed that one time wasn't a dream. It was time to find out.

She drove their car to the junkyard, like she had before, although never for this purpose. The last time she came here was after she had almost unleashed an inferno on her family's house and the encounter didn't go well at all. But she hoped that this time she might be able to accomplish more than to start a shouting contest with herself.

Her mattress in the junk shack was still there, as were all the other things she had placed here. Exhausted, she laid down on the makeshift bed, closed her eyes and waited anxiously for a response of some kind.

For a while, there was nothing, only the sound of distant birds and the wind outside, but then, someone finally noticed her presence.

"I never thought in a million years, that I would see you again."

Opening her eyes, Rachel beheld her counterpart, standing in the same spot as before as if she had never left. The other Rachel stood there, arms crossed, resting her back against the wall once more. Based on the way she glanced at her, it seemed like her reflection was trying to gauge what her motive for coming here was.

"Before you say anything else, I'm not here for a fight.", she said to her reflection, getting up.

"I figured, though I wonder what exactly you came here for. I have nothing to say to you."

"I come with questions. Questions that I need answers to."

"What makes you think I'm gonna answer to you after how our last meeting went? After what you accused me of?"

She thought about what to say next, the next words could make or break this whole thing.

"I... I am sorry for what I said to you, Rachel. I know it's weird to refer to you with my own name... but I realize that we are one and the same. I called you an imitation and a ripoff and for that I am sorry. I was going through a rough episode at the time and I unleashed all of my frustration on you. The truth is, I don't know you, not well enough to judge you based on what little facts I was given by Max. I truly am sorry."

Her reflection was somewhat taken aback by this and she wasn't the only one. Even Rachel herself felt surprised that she could lower her defenses like this.

"Is that... humility I'm seeing here? You actually admit you were wrong about me? I can tell you aren't lying."

"It is. I concede the fact that I may have been mistaken about you, it's why I'm here."

"You must be really desperate for answers then, it's not often that I get off my proverbial high horse once I'm on it, having made up my mind about someone."

"I know. I know exactly what you are talking about. But I do not wish to fight you any longer or to use your name in a hurtful way like I have done in the past. I simply wish to understand."

"And what is it exactly that you wish to understand?"

"You. If you truly are the same as me, then tell me why you have done what you have. I came to understand that we aren't that different in the end, just having lived different lives from a certain point forward. I no longer despise you or reject your existence."

"You want to know how I ended up dead isn't it? Why I have done those things you accused me of?"

"Yes, please. I beg of you, I need to know.", Rachel said, now on her knees.

She really did feel desperate, but other than submitting herself, she saw no other option to persuade her reflection, who finally stopped crossing her arms upon hearing these words. This was to the only way to get through to her if they truly were one and the same.

"Never once in my life have I begged for anything, this must hurt your pride, assuming you still have it.", her reflection said.

"I sometimes wonder if I have too much of it.", Rachel answered.

"Get up, that posture is unbecoming of who you are!"

Rachel obeyed and stood up again.

"Are you looking to redeem me somehow? Because you will be disappointed in that case."

"I'm not looking for your redemption, I wish to understand your motives."

"Very well, go and ask your questions. But I warn you, you may not like what you are going to hear."

"First, tell me why you went behind Chloe's back.", Rachel said, giving her reflection, the "original" Rachel Amber, a chance to explain herself.

"Chloe Price. I wondered how long it would take for her name to come up. Fine, I will tell you. Chloe was at first nothing more than a crush for me, I fell for her and she fell for me. We both did so all too willingly. At first, I wasn't sure if I felt for her the same way she felt for me, but we bonded very quickly despite a rough start. We had promised each other on stage, in front of everyone, that we would leave Arcadia Bay behind together. I had always felt the need to do so and with her, I felt like that could finally be achieved. I'm assuming you feel the same thing?"

She too had been longing to leave town for years, but her bond with Max prevented that. She didn't want to pull her away from Arcadia Bay without a good reason and was willing to remain there for as long as it took. In response, Rachel simply nodded.

"Then you understand how strong that feeling can be? I wanted to leave behind my liar of a father and imposter of a mother all the more once I found out what they had done behind my back by hiding my real mom from me and making deals in the dark. I tried to find her, but almost got killed in the process. If it weren't for Chloe, I would have died a lot sooner than I did. I saw Sera once... only once in my life. We met for a brief moment and that is all I have as my memory of her and Chloe was there for it. We wanted to go LA and leave it all behind."

"So, what went wrong? How does Frank fit in with that?", Rachel asked her counterpart.

"What went wrong is that we _couldn't_ leave. Chloe was too attached to her mom, no matter how brave she tried to be about it and kept telling me how her mom had a new husband instead. Chloe needed her mother and she needed her in return, it was as simple as that. Chloe acted tough, but beneath all that bravado and defiance was a very fragile human being who I had to be very careful with. The biggest issue, however, was that we couldn't afford it. Ultimately, we kept putting off the idea month after month after realizing that it wasn't as simple as just packing our bags and jumping into her truck. I was busy studying at Blackwell while Chloe was busy waging war against her stepfather David, who was indeed a pain in the ass, I couldn't stand his attitude. Chloe hadn't been in Blackwell for a while at this point, having been kicked out trying to protect me from Principal Wells. I made no money because I was in school and had no time to find a job, which Arcadia Bay didn't exactly offer in abundance, as people kept leaving town for greener pastures, but not us, we were stuck. As you can imagine, asking my dad for that sort of money wasn't an option either."

"So, did Chloe not do something?"

"No, she didn't. If I did as much as dare speak about her making some money, she would get defensive and accuse me of sounding like her mom, so I stopped bothering to try and convince her. I mean jobs were hard to come by, but they did exist, but Chloe didn't give a shit about it. What followed were two years of her making debts with Frank, who was selling her the weed she smoked. I knew him for years, but we were merely friends when Chloe popped into my life."

"Then what happened?"

"I made a decision. I decided that if Chloe couldn't pull her weight, that I was going to do it for her instead. I could have dumped her at any time, but didn't, because I loved her."

"You loved her?"

"I did, with all my heart. With all the imperfections and flaws she had, none of which mattered to me. She was the only one who was there for me when my life was turned upside down. Nevermind the fact that she did, in fact, save my life after I got almost killed. I owed her big time, it's one of the reasons I was so patient with her."

"Then why betray her? If she meant that much to you, why would you hurt her like that?"

"I never _wanted_ to hurt her, not after what we've been through together. At one point, I figured that with my busy school schedule and my connection with Frank that I could use that to my advantage. I offered him to sell his stuff to anyone interested, mostly Blackwell students. He would give me a cut of the profits in return. With that asshole Damon no longer being a concern, I felt it was safe enough to do this since Frank never threatened me before. But, in the end, my time at Blackwell was limited, as my graduation was only so far away. I needed more money and fast, that's when I decided to make a move on Frank, without telling Chloe about it. This led to him sharing his profits 50/50 with me, giving me more than I could have ever earned otherwise. So there it is, _he_ was a pawn in my game, not Chloe."

"But, all the letters and pictures that Max told me about...", Rachel uttered. "She told me that they showed you and him having the time of your lives together. He would even let you take his RV for a spin!"

"Then you have witnessed my "Magnum Opus.", her reflection stated.

"Your what?", Rachel asked.

"It was all an act, a performance, my masterpiece if you will and they were all part of it. It had to be convincing to Frank that I meant what I said and did to him. I pretended to be his lover for no other reason than to squeeze as much money as possible from him for me and Chloe to escape from here. One day poor "Frankie B." would wake up, realize that I wasn't in bed with him and he would never see me or Chloe again. It was my last act of theater and it seems everyone fell for it wholesale. I would be proud of myself if it weren't for the nature of the performance sullying it and for those it ended up hurting."

"So... you never stopped caring about Chloe? Did you plan on telling her?"

"I never stopped loving her, but I couldn't exactly tell her what I did now, could I? She would have blown up like a nuclear bomb if I had. I even started writing her a letter of apology but stopped myself from finishing it, because I knew that no matter how I phrased myself, she would consider what I have done a betrayal. I didn't wanna lose her either, so I kept it to myself. It wasn't easy either, both emotionally and practically. Frank's behavior was at times... dangerous. He could be scary even when he wasn't high on something, but I couldn't stop what I had begun. I had to dedicate myself to my own game until I saw it through. My dad also had his suspicions, but I managed to fool even him. In the end, I made good money."

"Were there any others that you... got involved with?", Rachel asked with trepidation.

"There were, but only one of them is worth mentioning. Mark Jefferson."

"Jefferson? The teacher?! I know him only as the janitor."

"Oh, so that's what he is where you come from?"

"Yeah, he failed at becoming a photographer."

"Well, in my reality he was popular, had money and influence, all which I tried to use, but he refused to get too involved with me. It remained a one-night-stand and never moved beyond that. I couldn't exactly be picky, I needed the money and he had it. Although I admit that I kinda liked him, he had a charm that would have been hard to resist otherwise. He was kind of weird, but a better gentleman than Frank ever was. But none of that mattered, to me, they were tools in a box."

"So that's it? You did all of that for money?"

"It's always about money, you will learn that soon enough. The Prescotts are probably ruining your Arcadia Bay as we speak trying to make more of it, casualties be damned. Incidentally, _they_ were also my greatest and final mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"Nathan fucking Prescott. He was going to be my biggest catch ever, the guy was loaded with money, thanks to his rich family. We've actually been good friends for years, but I ended up hanging less with him once Chloe arrived on the scene. I made good money selling Frank's drugs to his precious Vortex Club, so I had to be around them and him, even if I technically never became a member. One day at a party, he must have put something in my drink when I wasn't paying attention. The last thing I remember were blurry images of a chamber of some kind and the clicking sound of cameras. After that... there was nothing. I have no clue as what he's done to me or why."

"So... Nathan got you killed?!"

"Yes, he was my undoing, not Frank like you claimed last time. Frank was... difficult at times, but he wasn't my killer."

Rachel looked down and tried to process all of this.

"Are you disappointed?", her reflection asked, reading her facial expressions.

"Disappointed? No. Sad? Yes."

"Sad about what exactly?"

"That you never had the chance to tell Chloe any this, or Max. Max tried her hardest to find you, you know? She cared about you even though you never met."

"Seems like she succeeded in finding me after all though."

"I guess, but I'm different from you."

"More than that, you are gonna be better than me."

"Huh?"

Rachel wasn't sure if what she was hearing was real. This sounded like a far cry from the tirade of hate she received the last time.

"The last time we spoke, you called me your "echo". Why are you suddenly saying that I will be better?", she asked her reflection.

"Because first of all, you admitting to being in the wrong is a sign of strength which you should know I value and secondly, you are the only thing left alive with my name on it. I admit to being jealous for you to be alive but also wish you would understand what incredible potential you have. Seeing you all happy with Max, going on trips, marriage and simply being able to enjoy being in love? I have longed for such feelings and experiences, but never quite felt that way. Chloe hated the idea of marriage, saying that it was for dumb people. I'm hella jealous of you, that's why I got so angry last time. You should know if you are anything like me, that this is the sort of thing that happens to you too."

"Jealousy seems to be our common sin, I suffer from it as well."

"See? I knew you were going to say that! It might be that we are the same in the end, whether we like or not. The same, yet different."

"You were wrong about Max though, I stand by that.", Rachel said determinedly.

"Perhaps I was, but be careful that you don't hurt those that matter to you the most. I have a tendency to do that and so did she once."

"I already have, if you recall and I'm not proud of what happened. Max stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life that day. As for Max herself, she learned from her mistake of abandoning Chloe and regrets it deeply to this day. She wanted me to say hi to you for her and she also wishes that you could have met."

"If she truly has changed, then I can only hope the best for you. I mean it, I'm not bullshitting you. At least one of us would be happy, that's better than nothing."

Rachel remembered wanting to speak about her powers.

"You talk about my potential a lot, are you referring to my skills or are you talking about my hidden powers?"

"What I meant were your acting skills. Like I told you before, you could totally rule the stages of this world if you desired it enough and were to make the right connections, I know you could. As for our power, I didn't get to use it much and I have no idea where either of us got it nor do I know it's purpose."

"Did you... did you cause the storm that came after us?", Rachel asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Storm?"

"Yes, a giant tornado came to Arcadia Bay shortly after Max had arrived here and almost destroyed everything. We were wondering if you had anything to do with that. I'm not pointing fingers here, we were merely theorizing."

"I know nothing about any storms, though I might have wished the worst to happen to Nathan before I died. But no, I would not condemn the whole place to be destroyed, even my anger doesn't reach that far. That and even though I admit that I was jealous of you, I did not wish that sort of harm to you or anyone, ever."

"Are you sure? I'm scared what my powers could lead to. They seem to be growing ins strength each time I use them now."

"I don't know for sure, if it was my doing, then it wasn't by intent, I guarantee you that. Believe me, I admit that I hold grudges, but I'm not a monster."

"I believe you."

"I'm not proud of having sold myself to do what I deemed to be right at the time, but it is what happened. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that in hindsight. I trust you not to make the same mistakes as me, but please, do not forget who you are. I know you and I were meant to be something greater than a weird girl in some backwater town with anger management and daddy issues."

"I won't forget, I promise you."

For the first time ever, Rachel saw a smiling expression on her counterpart's face.

"Perhaps you aren't pathetic after all.", her reflection said.

"And perhaps I can finally accept you for what you are.", she responded.

Rachel reached out to her counterpart, but her hand passed right through her.

"Are you really who you appear to be? Or are you just a figment of my imagination in the end?", Rachel asked.

"Life needs a little mystery... Rachel."

Upon her counterpart acknowledging her name, Rachel woke up again. She had been asleep for two hours. She cried, feeling tears flowing. She couldn't understand whether or not she felt sad or happy. More than likely it was combination of both. The words of the other Rachel echoed in her mind all the way home.

She got her phone out and typed her message to Max as promised:

 _"Hey Max, just had the weirdest fucking encounter. I'm heading back now. XO - RA -"_

* * *

Upon returning, she looked for Max and found her in the living room, talking with James. It seems they were discussing something in her absence.

"Rachel? Are you ok?", Max asked upon her return.

"I'm fine, we need to talk though.", Rachel said.

Max glanced at James.

"We've gone over everything, if there is something else, I will let you know.", he said her.

Rachel had no idea what he was on about, but didn't particularly care at that moment and went back upstairs to her room with Max in tow. Rachel laid down on her bed and gestured for Max to close the door and join her.

"I assume you talked to her?", Max asked the obvious question.

"I have and you are not gonna believe what I'm about to tell you."

Rachel laid it all down, everything the other Rachel told her. She didn't hold back on the details either.

"Holy shit.", Max ended up saying, her expression showing that she had a hard time believing what she heard. "Rachel, I... wowser... as much as I want to be mad, it does make sense."

"It does. She didn't have you to hold on to and because of that, she just wanted out of here and tried everything she could to make that happen for her and Chloe."

"Chloe... oh fuck... no, this is..."

Max became increasingly flustered and now it was her turn to cry.

"Max, I knew you weren't gonna like any of this, but why is this upsetting you so badly?"

"Because it's all my damn fault!", Max said sobbing.

"How are the actions of my counterpart your fault? You never even met!", Rachel pointed out.

" _THAT'S THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT_!", Max yelled out in anger and sadness, now shaking like leaves in a storm.

Rachel felt startled and confused. She had never witnessed Max yell like that before.

"Max, I'm sorry but I don't really understand, please forgive me.", she said carefully.

Rachel tried her best to comfort Max and it took a while for her to settle down somewhat.

"Rachel, isn't it obvious? I moved away from here, leaving Chloe behind by herself to deal with William's death. Then, I stopped talking to her, going as far as having ignored her texts! I hurt her so badly without even realizing it at the time. Then her life went to shit even more and despite having you, her life remained what it was. Without hope and without purpose. I know that if I had been a better friend, she wouldn't have slipped over the edge as far as she did. You two could have been out of here, living it up in Los Angeles or somewhere else and live your dream. But no, I had to fuck it all up for her and plunge her into darkness, in which you were her only light when I wasn't around. Your death? That is partly on me too as a result!"

Rachel felt herself in absolute disagreement with that idea.

"You listen to me very closely, Maxine Amber.", she said, taking hold of Max's hands and trying to get her to look her in the eyes.

"You were _not_ responsible for the actions of my counterpart, not back then and not now. The decisions she made, she made for herself. You didn't decide to move to Seattle, that was out of your control. You are not to blame for this, none of it. She had made a decision at her own volition. The same goes for Chloe, you cannot blame yourself endlessly for everything that happened to her. Yes, it wasn't good what you did, but how the fuck could you have known that this was gonna happen? Those two made their own choices, you did not choose for them. Do you understand?"

"But... but if I had been there, the other Rachel might still be alive."

"You don't know that, Max! Yes, she may still be alive, but Chloe could be dead instead or hell, you could be dead yourself! You cannot predict how things work out. Life is like a giant field of dominoes falling all in sequence. Just because you prevent one domino from falling over, doesn't mean you saved them all from doing so. Our actions have widespread repercussions that our minds cannot possibly foresee or understand all the time."

"Maybe you are right, I thought saving William would have had nothing but good consequences and I learned the hard way that it wasn't the case."

"Besides, Max, I _am_ Rachel Amber as well. She and I are the same person, so if I tell you that this isn't on you, won't you believe me?"

"I want to, but I can't help but feel this guilt regardless."

"I know."

"But you don't understand."

Max continued her cries, facing away from Rachel. Not knowing what else to do at this point, Rachel simply embraced Max and hoped this would that this would give her some relief. She continued to quiver for a while, but eventually, she had stopped her wailing and went quiet. Rachel didn't take long to notice that Max had fallen asleep, but she remained with her regardless, continuing her vigil over Max for over an hour before she woke up again.

"You are still here.", Max said upon realizing that Rachel was still at her side.

"Of course I am.", Rachel said, stroking Max gently. "I may not understand what you are going through, Max, but I do care."

Max turned herself around to face her wife. Without saying a word, she reached out and kissed her passionately, with Rachel reciprocating in kind.


	29. Passion

Max managed to calm down eventually, thanks to Rachel's attention and love. She did feel a sense of relief finally knowing what happened to the other Rachel, although the cause of her demise still gave her chills when she thought about it.

"So it was Nathan after all.", she said.

"It would appear so, your suspicions about him were correct it seems.", Rachel agreed.

"That day I put him in his place, I had no idea he killed you, and yet I felt all this anger that I unloaded on him. He harmed so many people and took your counterpart's life. How the fuck did he not get found out about?"

"Max, I know you don't wanna hear this, but they are two different Nathans."

"Rachel, I don't care, I have witnessed how he talked to you! If I hadn't intervened when I did, what do you think he would have done to you?"

"I... don't want to know, to be honest."

"Exactly, he is still dangerous, even if I made him cry like a bitch. His whole family is dangerous."

"Only to those that get in their way."

"Then what do you call what I did to him then? I'm pretty sure I made the shitlist, as probably did you by rejecting his advances."

Rachel remained silent.

"Listen, knowing what happened to the other you, I cannot just pretend that he doesn't represent a possible danger. What's worse, there is something else I need to tell you about as well.", Max said.

"Are you referring to what you talked to my dad about when I came home?", Rachel asked.

"I am. Something is going on in Arcadia Bay and it's not pretty. James didn't tell me sooner because he didn't want to make us worry, but it seems there is something going down and he feels that we both need to know."

"What is it, Max?"

"He showed me numerous police reports. There have been a series of mysterious deaths occurring in and around Arcadia Bay. I won't mention any names because I had to swear to keep that sort of thing confidential, but rest assured it hasn't happened to anyone we know."

"Deaths you say?"

"Yes. People turning up in the middle of the woods, all having died from starvation or dehydration. The evidence points to these being accidents, people getting lost and not finding their way back to civilization in time. That sort of thing happens, sad as it is. What has your dad concerned is the frequency of this occurring. It happens too often to be coincidence and he is seriously worried about us as a result."

"I'm not much a hiker, Max."

"Me neither, but his point is that there may be more to it than that."

"My dad's job only fuels his inherent paranoia. I'm sure he's exaggerating, he's been jumping at shadows his whole life and most of the time, he's been wrong. Makes me wonder how he keeps his job sometimes."

"I'm not so sure, he sounded pretty serious when he told me about this. I mean, why fill us in if this would only affect people going out into the wilderness?"

"So are you telling me that there is someone out there pumping up people with drugs and then let them fend for themselves in the woods after the fact? That makes no sense, Max. You don't give someone you want dead a chance to live."

"No it doesn't, but neither does drugging you and taking pictures of you before you die. They still don't know if any drugs are involved either."

"Well, isn't this a delightfully fucked up world in which we live in? I miss the cruise already. We didn't have to worry about any of this shit.", Rachel fumed.

"Look, I don't want to be annoying or patronizing, but let's just be vigilant ok?"

"Fair enough, after the story from my other me, I already plan on being more careful, especially around the likes of Nathan. Good thing I don't need to deal with him anymore though."

"Just because you aren't in school, doesn't mean he won't try something stupid."

"Thanks, Max, that makes feel _so_ much better.", Rachel said in a snide manner.

"I'm only saying that because I love you and I don't wish for any harm to come to you. I suppose it's my turn to be overprotective after what you told me. I'm sorry."

Rachel let out an audible sigh.

"I know, Max. I just can't help but notice that we are stuck in this damn town and wish we could go elsewhere and start our future together. But I promise that I will not try something foolish to make that happen, not after today."

"Thank you, it means a lot to me. I want out of here too eventually, but that can't happen before my graduation next year."

"Here's what I'm gonna do, I will try to find something in the meantime to hold us over money-wise. I have a few ideas."

"I'm happy to hear that, I'm sure you will kill it, no matter what you end up doing."

"Thank me when I get that first paycheck."

"Oh, I will."

"As a matter of fact, I'm gonna head out and check out if the Two Whales could use a hand. It's nothing glamorous, but it's a start if they take me in."

"Want me to come along for good luck?"

"Sure, if you got nothing better to do?"

"Not really, I got time."

* * *

They headed to the Two Whales diner. Despite the fact that it had been a while they've been here, for Max, it always felt nice to return. Suddenly, she remembered something, or rather someone. She peered through the little alley behind the diner and saw who she was looking for.

"Rachel, would you be mad if I let you go in by yourself?", she asked.

"You got somewhere to be out of the sudden?"

"There is someone here that I haven't spoken to in a long time. If you don't mind, I'd like to say hello."

"That's fine, I'm sure I can handle this."

"Ok, break a leg!"

"See you in a bit."

With Rachel having gone inside, Max went around the back of the diner. A homeless lady sat perched on top of a sheet of cardboard. It was the same person Max had met in her original timeline. She approached slowly, reminding herself that this lady probably didn't know who she was.

"Hello?", she greeted with a slight wave of her hand.

"Well, hello there young lady. What brings you to my humble domain?", she asked in response.

"I thought I'd check on you, I just dropped someone off at the diner so she can get a job there."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"Rachel Amber."

"I know her, a fine young woman that is. She frequents this place almost as much as you do."

"You know who we are? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"I see a lot. People treat me like I'm invisible, a stain their precious town. Once upon a time, I was like them, pretending to be something better than those unfortunate souls who couldn't afford to live in a home of their own, until my life decided to move me to the bottom of society."

"Sorry to hear that."

"You and Rachel, you two are often together. I take it you are good friends?"

"Actually... uh... we are married."

"You seem somewhat embarrassed about that fact."

"It's just that I never know how people will react when I tell them, not everyone approves."

"You don't need their approval, my dear, if you love each other, that is all that should matter."

"If only everyone saw it that way."

"I do, so you won't have to worry about me saying anything. She is a very strong person, but requires a delicate approach in guiding her."

"I heard other people say the same."

"Rachel Amber has tall goals with an ambition, unlike anything I have ever seen. But trust me, deep down she is just a mortal being with all the weaknesses that come with that. Make sure to be at her side and steer her right and she will truly blossom."

"You are very wise."

"Wisdom comes from experience, my dear. I have experienced more than most people would care to in their whole life."

"Did you hear anything people getting lost in the woods? Word has it that several people were found dead in the last several months."

"Sounds fishy to me, if you ask me. If you live out there, you usually know what you are doing. Accidents happen, of course."

"I wonder if there is more to it."

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

"Perhaps you are right. I got other worries, like how we can make money here while the Prescotts are ruining the town."

"I have no kind words for the scum that is Sean Prescott or his clan."

"Nathan's dad?"

"Indeed. That man has ruined more lives than the tornado last year. Make no mistake, sooner or later, this _will_ be a ghost town, after he has sucked it dry like a vampire. No one will remember the name Arcadia Bay once he is done with it."

"Rachel wants to become an actress or a model in LA."

"Your odds aren't good for that here, that's for sure. You would be wise to leave. In fact, leave as soon as you can. A shadow looms over this town and its shade is suffocating it like a cloud of smoke. As for me? I got nowhere to go. It's people like Joyce Price that show me courtesy, that's why I'm still here. If this diner ever goes away... well I would have to make a decision on where to head next."

"A shadow you said?"

"Yes, I can feel something is afoot."

"I admit, it feels weird being back here, we've been gone for over a week and everything does feel different somehow. I cannot describe it though, maybe it's because I won't attend school with Rachel anymore and her trying to make something of herself."

"I'm rooting for you two. I don't want to say that this town is a sinking ship... but it is hard to ignore the signs. Just take a look at the newspaper every now and then and you will see."

"I will come by another time, it was nice talking to you."

"Take care and tell Rachel that I wish her all the best, wherever her path will take her."

"I will. See you later."

Max turned around and walked back. What the woman said was true, if one paid attention to the newspapers, the town was suffering from unemployment issues and the Prescotts weren't doing anything about it. As a matter of fact, they were the main reason for it. Max decided to bring it home with her and read further into this.

She then headed inside and saw Rachel chat with Joyce. Upon seeing Max, Joyce's eyes lit up.

"Max! It's great to see you, it's been a while! Rachel told me you two went to the Caribbean? That must have been a great trip!"

"It was, Joyce. How are you and William doing?"

"Well you know, still trying to make ends meet. I've been working overtime a lot with Pan Estates having been canceled remember? You can congratulate Rachel by the way, she just got hired!"

"Really? Yay, that's great!", she exclaimed, facing her wife now and giving her a big hug.

"Oh, easy Maxter, it's not like I just won the lottery or something.", Rachel said with slight embarrassment.

"Still though, I'm happy, considering where Arcadia's job opportunities are concerned."

"It's true, I'm blessed to still have this job.", Joyce chimed in. "There are so many other places that shut down, it's a minor miracle this place is still standing to be honest. But I know that with the likes of Rachel, we can keep on going strong, we are lucky to have her."

"Maybe now I can finally make up for that snow globe.", Rachel said.

"Well, if you insist, even though I kinda forgot about that ever since, we will see you next Monday morning for your first shift.", Joyce said.

"Thank you, I won't let you down."

"I know you won't, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we were to suddenly have quite a few more customers in the near future.", Joyce mused.

Rachel and Max left the diner again and walked to their car.

"You are positively radiant.", Max remarked. "Any particular reason other than the obvious?"

"Just feeling good about myself, that is all. I feel like I'm contributing to our future escape and I'm looking forward to it."

"You and me both. I noticed what Joyce said about you guys getting more customers by the way."

Rachel smirked.

"I haven't got a clue what she meant by that.", Rachel said with a totally straight face.

"Yeah, right. You are gonna get tipped like crazy, just a heads-up. I wouldn't be surprised if you were to make more money off your tips than your wage."

"We will have to wait and see won't we?"

They got into their car and started driving back to the Amber house.

"By the way, what were you doing anyway?", Rachel asked.

"There is this homeless lady that lives behind the diner. I met her in my reality once and she was nice to talk to, so I wanted to see if that had changed or not."

"Has it?"

"No, she seemed unchanged, unfortunately, just as poor as she ever was. She seems very knowledgeable though."

"I've seen her around, but we didn't speak much."

"She told me to wish you good luck with your job and with everything else you will do."

"That's nice of her, tell her my thanks if you see her again."

* * *

Upon returning home, Rachel announced that she found a job.

"I know it isn't much, but I gotta start somewhere.", she said to her parents.

"Some of the biggest millionaires started at the bottom, you will be just fine. Congratulations!", Rose said.

"Indeed, it's nothing to be ashamed of Rachel, we've all been there.", James seconded.

Max noticed Rachel seeming to contemplate saying something, but she ended up simply nodding in response.

"Tonight's dinner is Chicken à la King. I hope you two will enjoy it with us.", Rose said.

Max glanced over at Rachel to gauge her expression, which had remained a positive one.

"We will.", Max ended up saying.

"It will be ready in just a few minutes, go on, make yourselves comfortable while you wait.", Rose said, going to the back of the kitchen. James walked back into his office for the time being.

Rachel went and claimed the coziest recliner in the whole living room. Max stood in front of her staring back and forth between her and the chair.

"I got here first, Maxter."

"But I want it.", Max said playfully.

"Well, _I'm not moving_.", Rachel said, crossing her legs.

"I guess then I only have one choice..."

Max forced her way on to the chair and sat atop of Rachel now, who sounded rather frustrated as a result.

"You comfortable up there?", she said.

"Actually, I am. That's an... interesting padding that this chair got."

"That "padding" is me..."

"I don't see how that is my problem, it's _hella_ comfortable to me."

"Wow, I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response. You _did_ gain weight during that cruise by the way, aren't you afraid you are hurting me?", Rachel said.

"Not gonna work, you are not getting me off and that's that.", Max replied.

"You made a grave tactical mistake there, Maxter!"

Suddenly, Max could feel her sides getting pinched both at the same time as Rachel poked her between her ribs with two fingers simultaneously, which made her literally jump off her and out of the chair.

"I gotta remember that one.", Rachel said with a fiendish grin.

"You are such an evil twit, Rachel!"

Max resorted to sitting on the couch instead. After a moment, Rachel came over to join her, leaving the recliner now unoccupied. Eyeing it, she was about dart towards it, when Rachel reached around her waist and held her back.

"Oh no you are not, did you think I didn't know you were gonna do that?", Rachel said giggling, yanking Max back on the couch and pinning her down, leaving her unable to move. She now hovered over her face.

"Oh, what should I do with you for your punishment? First, you try to force me out of my favorite chair and then you try to run from me? Hm..."

"Dinner is ready!", Rose called out.

"Saved by the bell there Max, I guess I will let you go... _for now_."

Sitting at the table with James and Rose for the first time since the day they had left to go on their honeymoon, Max could feel the atmosphere being slightly less tense than before, but a certain degree animosity still shrouded the room.

"I take it Max filled you in on what we spoke about?", James asked his daughter.

"She did, although I don't see why I should be worried.", she responded.

"The thing is, foul play may be part of this. These cases are too similar and I got involved when authorities started suspecting that substance abuse could be a part of this in some way. I just want to you to be safe, that is all I care about."

"Are there any suspects?", Max asked.

"None so far, all these incidents happened near the city limits in very rural areas. So far, we don't know if anyone is even involved at all. I will keep you posted if something changes."

"By the way, the food is delicious, Rose.", Max said.

"Yes, I love it too.", Rachel agreed with her.

"Thank you. It's one of my favorite meals to make.", she responded.

* * *

After finishing to eat dinner, Max volunteered to help with the dishes, with Rachel having gone upstairs. After Rose thanked her for helping, Max followed her wife to their room. When she entered, she saw Rachel putting up her new work clothes in the closet.

"I'm glad you got that job, I'm almost jealous that you get to work with Joyce.", Max admitted.

"I'm looking forward to it, I know that place like the back of my hand anyway and Joyce is very nice. Makes me wonder if my other me got along with the one from your old reality.", Rachel wondered.

"She spoke highly of you, you must have made quite an impression on her too."

"That's a nice thought."

"You seem to be in a good mood ever since you spoke with your counterpart this afternoon.", Max noted.

"It just gave me some much-needed clarity. I admit that I judged her unfairly, doing so only with the facts we knew before. I ask myself, would I do the same in her position? Well, I suppose it's not out of the question anymore, is it? I just came to accept that I'm not as flawless as I pretended to be."

"She made a terrible mistake, but for the right reasons."

"Maybe, but that doesn't make it right either. I won't do the same, that's for sure. Besides, you don't seem to be the kind of person to approve of open relationships, Max."

"I guess I'm not. I love what we have."

"As do I."

Once Rachel was done putting up her clothes and their bags, the room was finally tidied up.

"I feel like a movie tonight.", Max said.

"I quite liked the new Godzilla, much to my surprise.", Rachel said.

"Me too, but they really shouldn't have cut away from the action so much."

"Yeah, talk about a tease!"

"Want me to dive into your collection and see what I can find?", Max asked.

"Have at it, Maxter."

Commencing her search, Max realized she still hadn't seen at least half the films in Rachel's possession. Her own movies only took up a tiny space by comparison.

"Prince of Darkness?", Max said upon pulling up what looked to be a horror movie.

"Ah, yes one of John Carpenter's films. I like his style.", Rachel said.

"This sounds like a vampire flick."

"It's actually not, not at all."

"What is it about then?"

"The end of the world brought upon by the devil himself. Also deals with alternate dimensions and stuff. It's not great, but it's a decent enough film. His best movie, however, is The Thing, but I don't think you can handle that one."

"I've seen Cannibal Holocaust, I think I can handle anything at this point."

"Really? You got a tougher stomach than I gave you credit for then. Maybe one day I will introduce you to The Thing after all."

"Fine, let's try this one for now.", Max said, getting the movie started and watching it with Rachel from their bed.

A little over an hour and a half later, the credits rolled.

"So, what did you think of Prince of Darkness?", Rachel asked Max.

"It's weird, I feel like there was a lot more going on than I understood at first.", Max said.

"I felt the same the first time watching it, a second viewing helps a lot."

"That scene with that guy dissolving into bugs was... ugh."

"Hella awesome, I know."

"More like, hella gross. But it wasn't a bad movie. I kinda liked the music."

"Gotta love that synth soundtrack, one of Carpenter's trademarks. A shame he doesn't make movies anymore."

Rachel suddenly moved very close to Max.

"Hey, Max? I got a message for you and you are not going to like it.", Rachel said, aping the gross scene they were talking about a moment ago.

"Oh my, what could it be?"

"I still remember what you did earlier and I never properly punished you.", she said in a seductive manner.

"What are you up to?"

"You are about to find out."

Rachel rolled Max over on her back and managed to pin her down again, despite Max's attempt at struggling. She felt like a fly stuck in a spider's web.

At first, Rachel did little more than lick her neck, which felt really good, but then she could feel her bite. I wasn't particularly painful, but she knew what she was doing. Rachel branded her with another hickey like she had done so in the past. The stinging sensation made her exhale sharply.

"There, that will suffice.", Rachel said with satisfaction upon inspecting her work.

"Why did I know you are going to do that?", Max asked rhetorically.

"You know me, are you gonna return the favor?", Rachel said expectantly, releasing her grip on Max willingly.

To her surprise, Max didn't do anything.

"Something wrong? I'm literally defenseless right now.", Rachel said teasingly.

Max knew her timing was off, but she couldn't contain her concern any longer.

"It's just that I realized that between me going back to school on Monday and you starting at your job we won't be having much time together anymore. At least, not as much as we used to have. We got one more day and that's it.", she said.

"I know, Max."

"And yet, you seem pretty happy regardless."

"Max, I knew that day would come sooner or later. It's gonna be like this for the foreseeable future. We still live together and I will anxiously await your return home every day, as I'm sure you will do the same when it comes to my work, right?"

"I guess, I'm just so used to having you around me at all times."

"I cannot speak for you, but you will always be with me, right here.", Rachel said in a sweet manner, pointing at her heart.

This made feel Max feel a little better.

"I think about you all time.", she admitted.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You never leave my thoughts, I feel like ever since that first kiss you gave me on that crazy day I'm unable to get you out of my mind anymore like you are always with me too."

"You never said that before.", Rachel said smiling.

"It is true though. I feel like I've known you my whole life."

"Perhaps that is true, you never know, I moved here when I was very young and Arcadia Bay isn't exactly a big town. We should do some research and find out because I too feel like you've always been a part of my life in some way. Maybe we came across each other once and we just can't remember."

Max liked the idea, even if it was just for fun. For now, she had something else in mind, however. Getting up, she could feel Rachel watching her with curiosity as to what she was up to and walked over to the other end of the room and grabbed a lighter, the same one Rachel had once used to burn her family photographs. It was time to use it for something positive. She went and turned the lights off, leaving only a faint light coming through the window, just enough to be able to see. She picked up a pair of candles that Rachel kept by her desk, put them on the nightstand near the bed and then lit them up. A warm glow filled their corner of the room, it's flames reflecting in Rachel's eyes. Putting up her flannel, but keeping her t-shirt on, Max rejoined Rachel on the bed.

"I expected you to do something, but this is not what I saw coming. I thought you were gonna get me back for the love bite I gave you.", Rachel said.

"I don't wish to punish you.", Max said softly, stroking her partner's cheeks gently with her hands.

Rachel's expression briefly changed, as if taken by surprise. It was almost as if she felt bad about what she had done just a moment ago.

"This awfully romantic, you are usually not this patient when it comes to our love.", Rachel pointed out.

"I admit that I've been pretty impatient in the past, but tonight will be different."

"Not in a hurry this time?"

"No, I want us to enjoy this. Are you fine with taking it slow this once?"

"Max, you know I'm always open to experimentation and I like the sound of this.", she said, taking off and throwing her own flannel on the floor. "Why the sudden of change pace though? Is there a reason?"

"Don't get me wrong, it's always exciting with you but for my liking, it was always over too soon. I wanna see how this goes, hard as it is for me to restrain myself from unwrapping you like a birthday present right now."

Rachel chuckled in response.

"Well, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, so why don't you show me your new approach?"

Starting to passionately kiss her partner, Max let her feelings dictate her actions rather than letting her instincts rush her and Rachel went along with it, abiding Max's pacing. Arms entangled around each other, minutes passed like seconds to them and they both relished this new experience.


	30. Expectations

Despite the fact that they got off the cruise ship only the day before, Rachel slept better this night than she had in a long time. Her nightmares about ravens had left her be for a while, even though she always expected to see them every time she went to sleep.

Max was still out of it this morning, dozing peacefully. It was their last day before they would have to face their duties. Max would return to Blackwell by herself and Rachel would start working at the Two Whales as a waitress the next day. It wasn't exactly what she had always dreamed of, but she already had plans to look into other opportunities while she was at least making some money. And Max made a point, she could earn some serious tips if she used her charms correctly. Once more, her acting experience could come in handy. In her mind, she was already preparing herself for doing just that.

She observed Max sleeping for a while, thinking about all the good times they had together. It's almost been a year since Max came to this reality, but to Rachel, it felt just like yesterday. She recalled her favorite memories, such as seeing Max's reaction to her video, the moment she sprung the big question on her and Max saying "yes", the moment when she wanted to get their marriage underway sooner and pretty much the entirety of the Caribbean cruise. It still filled her with joy, something she yearned for since she entered her teen years. Maybe, with Max at her side, she could finally lay to rest her inner demons and the bitter anger that she had felt ever since her father's scheme was revealed to her.

As time went past 9:00 AM, Rachel decided to wake Max up, not wanting her to miss the whole day. The question was: how to wake her exactly?

There were no ice cubes readily available, but she didn't want to awaken her rudely anyway, not after how she was treated last night. This time, Rachel really didn't feel like playing pranks.

Instead, she employed what she would refer to as the "French method" and went for the direct approach of kissing her rather vigorously. It did not take long for Max to notice and wake up, unable to speak but still conveying her surprise with her eyes, who ended up reciprocating in kind.

"You have my permission to wake me like that every morning.", Max said smiling away.

"Same for you.", Rachel said. "You seemed to have slept well."

"I have, I was worried about sleeping in this bed again after the heavenly experience that was the cruise ship one, but I slept better than ever somehow."

"I think I know why.", Rachel mused raising her eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"It isn't obvious goofball? Maybe you didn't pay attention to the time, but we didn't get to sleep until like midnight yesterday."

"But that was like... two hours after the movie ended."

"Exactly."

"Wowser."

"Wowser indeed. Plus, since you are awake I can tell you now that I very much enjoyed our new... well, you know."

Max's face turned red.

"It was an experiment.", she said.

"And a very successful one I might add. I... never quite felt that close to you before."

"I liked it too."

"I never knew you could be so romantic, Max. I'm very happy to see you truly opening up like this, it takes a lot of courage, even if you are in love. I know you are probably sick of me saying this, but you've come a long way. Don't you stop that now."

"I'm not sick of it, I like to hear you say that. It tells me that I'm doing this right."

"There are no words to describe of awesome you are. I said that before and I will probably say it again."

"What is your work schedule anyway? I don't think I got around to asking you last night.", Max asked.

"Yeah, we kinda got distracted at a certain point didn't we? Well, I work Monday through Friday from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. So you will most likely get up before me and I will be home after you get here."

"We only got one car though.", Max pointed out.

"We do, but the school bus stops not far from here right? That should work for you.", Rachel suggested.

"Good point, I haven't been on that thing in so long, I almost forgot we had one."

"It's been a while that I relied on it myself."

"I will miss waking up with you, especially after this morning though."

"Hey, we still have the weekends. Unless of course, you wish to get up early with me during the week."

"I will think about it."

"Sounds good."

"Rachel, what would you like to do today? We got this entire day to ourselves still."

Rachel knew what we wanted all along, but wasn't sure what Max was going to say.

"Max, I would like to go visit Sera. I have put that off long enough and I feel like I owe her an apology, considering how I ran off the last time. We've been texting and calling, but we haven't seen each other except that one time right before I turned into a raging pyromaniac."

"Ok, I understand that. I've been wondering when you would seek her out."

"And I was wondering if you would like to come along. We are all family now, so I figured I offer it to you."

"It is true that I don't know her, but I'd like to change that. I gladly accept and appreciate it."

"Max, you earned this literally a million times over, it's the least I can do."

"Thank you."

"Ok, I will go ahead and text her and ask if today works for her and when we can meet."

* * *

Having sent the text, they went downstairs to eat breakfast. Whereas Rachel made herself a sandwich, Max seemed to have been in the mood for something else this morning. Rachel couldn't help but comment on her choice.

"Are you eating my bran flakes? Are you like... cereal?"

Max gave her a glare.

"I should have given you a hickey after all.", she said.

"You can still make up for that any time."

"Ugh, who am I kidding? You love showing those off like they are your trophy collection. I would probably do you a favor doing so."

"Maybe...", Rachel said, suppressing a giggle.

"You are kind of a masochist now that I think about it, Rachel.", Max stated.

No response came. Rachel tried her hardest not to smile like an idiot.

"I take your silence as a yes."

Rachel tried to hide her face from Max behind the cereal box by moving it in between them.

"I can see you smiling over there. Oh, and what's this? Now you are turning red too! Did I strike a nerve?", Max said playfully.

"I guess I can't hide anything from you anymore, can I?", Rachel said in resignation, with her proverbial back to the wall.

"Nope, not that I'm surprised really, I suspected that for a long time."

"Whatever gave it away?"

"Simple, you instigate by teasing me and getting under my skin, but whenever I get you back for it, you have been lowering your guard completely for a while now, without even struggling. It's like you want to be dominated by me."

Once, more Rachel remained silent.

"Oh my god, am I right about that?", Max said trying not to spew out her cereal from laughing.

"The strong are attracted to the strong.", Rachel ended up saying.

"Are you implying... that you consider me a stronger person than yourself?!"

"No, but equal, like I told you before. I think its rather that I get a certain satisfaction out of permitting it."

"That does sound more like you, I knew it!"

"I guess I appreciate a strong hand on the steering wheel every now and then.", Rachel said with a wink.

"No wonder you and Chloe got along."

"Why's that?"

"Because she was as tough as they come, I don't see her yielding to anyone, maybe not even to you."

"You sound like you don't know that for sure."

"Her and I never really spoke about this stuff, I was too damn shy and we didn't hang out long enough for me to get that comfortable and I think she never talked about it because for one you were missing and secondly she respected my hesitation on the subject. It wasn't really my place to ask her about your relationship. At least, that's how I saw it."

"That was nice of her, it means she respected you, despite the time you've been apart."

"I hope she still exists out there somewhere and that somehow another Max is watching over her."

"It's what I want to believe. I might not have known her as you did, but I can tell you guys were bonded very strongly. It would be a shame if it were all to be for nothing."

After finishing up their meal, Rachel was notified by her phone that Sera had responded.

"Hey, Max? Sera is asking me if meeting her around 1:30 this afternoon would be ok?"

"Works for me. Did you tell her I was coming by the way?"

"Nope, I wanna surprise her."

"You don't think she would mind?"

"Oh please, I will probably have to pry you off her once she gets to know you if we are anything alike."

"What do you wanna do until then?"

"Actually, I was going to suggest that we split up."

"Split up?"

"Yes, there is something I have to take care of, big secret, can't tell ya."

Max looked at her in confusion.

"It's nothing serious, Max, just trust me on this ok?"

"Ok, do you need the car? I don't really need it myself."

"Actually, yes, I will need that."

* * *

After seeing Rachel take off and with the house empty, Max suddenly felt very lonely. Getting used to being without Rachel wasn't going to be easy for her. She spent a couple of hours tidying up and making the place look neat, including their own room and wrote her daily diary entry. Soon she would need to open another one, as yet another diary was almost full to the brink. With nothing else to do after that, something she remembered Rachel saying suddenly made her feel a degree of guilt. There was a place Max had been avoiding herself and she felt now was the time to change this. She got out her phone and messaged her partner.

 _"Hey Rachel, I will head over to the cemetery for a bit. I will be back around noon. Love you! Maxoxo"_

Arriving at the cemetery after having stopped by a local flower shop, Max could feel her heart sink. She hadn't been here since Chloe's funeral which now felt an eternity ago. She found the plot Chloe was buried at, with every step feeling harder to take as she got closer. The headstone still looked immaculate. With no one else around, she read the inscription out loud to herself.

 _Chloe Elizabeth Price_

 _March 11, 1994_

 _October 11, 2013_

 _In memory of our beloved daughter_

 _May her spirit soar on the wings of a butterfly_

For a while she had just remained standing there, thinking about the fateful decision she had made almost a year ago when she had left her old reality behind and entered or created this one. Then she laid down the blue flowers she got on top of the grave.

"I'm sorry, Chloe, this not what I meant for you, it was never meant to end like this, not so damn soon. I had no idea what the hell I was doing back then, I only meant to make things better for you.", she said, speaking to Chloe, in case she could hear her somehow.

Between her sorrow for Chloe and her love for Rachel, Max's conscience still felt torn.

"Why couldn't you both be ok? Was that too much to ask for? Does fate have some kind of grudge against the three of us that we are now forever apart like this?"

She knelt down on the grass, wanting to cry but for some reason, no tears came. She just felt deeply depressed remembering the day she found that Chloe had died. The same day that dreadful storm hit.

"I'm sorry to be so weak, I know you would tell me to be strong and suck it up but isn't that easy. I try to be strong, both for Rachel and my own sake, but I miss you regardless and could really use your advice right now. I'm gonna be alone in school soon and I'm trying not to freak out over it. I know, its stupid, I've been there before, so why would I suddenly feel so anxious? Is it because of what she said? She said that I'm as strong as she is. Am I afraid that I can't live up to that expectation? I wish you could tell me that she is right, for I don't know. I don't consider myself strong at all, I look at her and I see such powerful charisma, so much love, confidence, and talent. How can I ever hope to measure up to her? I'm just Max, a silly girl who used to have a power far too great for anyone to possess. I'm not a badass like you and not as pretty as she is. Why would anyone care about me?"

She remained for a while longer before she got back up and was about to start walking away when she could suddenly feel someone embracing her from behind. It felt familiar and she knew that it was Rachel, who had come up to her, now resting her head on Max's shoulder. She wasn't sure how to react at first and simply remained standing still. How much had she heard of what she said? After a while, Max turned around, still unsure what to say.

"Max... I'm so sorry.", Rachel said with guilt-stricken eyes.

"What are you sorry for? How much did you hear me say?", Max asked, trying to put on a brave face.

"I heard enough to know that I made a mistake."

"Mistake?"

"I should have phrased myself better. When I told you that I consider you to be as strong me, I didn't mean that in the same way as you think of me. I'm not expecting you to be _like_ me, that was never my intention. I only complemented you in becoming more confident, that's all there ever was to it. As a matter of fact, I don't want you to be like me."

"Really? You mean that?", Max said feeling overwhelmed.

"Yes. I do not wish to make you my mirror image, I want you to become who you _really_ are, to see your own strength and seize it. The same strength that Chloe must have seen in you. Nothing more. I love who _you_ are."

"But what exactly makes me so strong? Why do I not see it?"

"Because, Max, only others can see it. You have done so many incredibly brave things. You saved a friend from committing suicide in front of a crowd of people who were too busy watching. You changed _history itself_ with your _sole intent_ being to help _one_ person and that person _wasn't_ yourself. You opened your heart to me the day I confessed my reasons for loving you and you didn't judge me for it. And most importantly, you said "yes" to this.", she said, pointing at their rings. "You wish to know what your strength is? Max, your strength is your undying devotion to those that you love and you do so unconditionally. I have literally threatened _your life_ with my unstable powers and yet, here you are, treating me no different and still showing me your love and affection, now more than ever as you showed me last night. Tell me, Maxine, if that isn't strength, then what is? Because I cannot think of anything better."

"I thought strength meant being able to impress, to sweep people off their feet and to be successful.", Max admitted.

"No, Max, not to me. There is so much more to it than that. I wouldn't trade you or your gifts for anything in the world. I don't care to be famous if it means I would be alone. Because...", Rachel choked up from her emotional turmoil and tried her best to keep herself together but to little avail. "Because Max, without you... I would be nothing."

Max couldn't believe what she was hearing, never had she imagined to have had such an impact on her partner.

Still struggling with her emotions, Rachel continued.

"I would be a hollow shell for people to admire with no one to lean on, no one else in my life who truly loves me for who I am rather than what I can do. You didn't just save my life all those years ago Maxine... you also gave it meaning. I want you to _never_ forget that. I'm sorry for using your full name, but damn it! You need to know how sincere I am about you!"

Max's emotions ran wild and even though a million different responses came to her mind, she simply threw her arms around Rachel and held her as close as possible without hurting her. She felt like a pair of rusty chains broke and had come off her heart.

"It's ok, I'm right here for you.", Rachel said in her soft voice that Max loved hearing so much.

"Rachel... maybe you are my angel after all. You came right when I needed you the most. Every time."

"I will be whatever you want me to be. As long as you are happy, that is all that matters to me."

Together, they left the cemetery behind and headed home.

* * *

"Why did you come after me?", Max asked while riding shotgun.

"Because I was concerned that you would have another one of those emotional episodes like before if you saw her grave again after all this time. I was worried you would be mad at me for intruding, but I couldn't leave you to deal with that by yourself. I just can't stand to see you in pain like that, I'm sorry."

Max was not mad, in fact, she was very grateful.

"Rachel, you didn't intrude, I needed answers and I wasn't going to get them any other way. I feel better knowing fully what our expectations of each other are."

"I still feel stupid that I made you think I would expect you to match me in everything, that's not what marriage is to me.", Rachel stated.

"You said you believed in a balanced approach."

"What I meant by that was I believe in giving and taking. I give you attention, so I expect some in return. You show me your love like you always do, and you get all of mine, all while never taking anything for granted. Your opinion matters as much as mine when it comes to our mutual agreements and decisions and just because I want to do something, doesn't mean you have to agree with me if you have reservations. That is the sort of thing I had in mind, not a competition."

"I see."

"For example, Max, I know you talk a big game about going to a concert and getting into the mosh pit but honestly? I don't see you liking that, like at all. Am I right if I assume you just wanted to tag along to something like that because I suggested it? Or to appease me perhaps?"

"You might be right about that. Chloe always encouraged me to try new things, but yeah, this might be too much for me to be perfectly honest."

"And you know what? There is no harm in that! No one can like everything or stand everything for that matter. If we do something, I want to do it knowing you are going to have a good time too. I can always hit up my friends for this, if they still like it, with your permission of course."

"I trust you with that, of course, you can."

"Thanks, Max, I trust you too."

Max felt a great sense of relief having brought up her thoughts and seeing Rachel being understanding about it.

Stopping at home only for a quick bite to eat, they soon after went on their way to the address that Sera gave to Rachel, which according to her, was still valid.

They arrived near a small apartment complex, one of the few in Arcadia Bay. They got out and Max beheld the building. She could feel Rachel holding her by the hand.

"So, are you ready to meet your real mother-in-law?", Rachel asked.

"I'm somewhat anxious, but yes.", she replied.

* * *

They went up the stairs of the building to the 9th floor where Sera's address told them to go. Rachel would go to the door by herself first and then surprise Sera with her partner. Ringing the bell on the correct door, they now waited for a response. Max's heart was going crazy at this point, pumping ever faster and she could feel her adrenaline going, but she managed to remain calm.

The door opened and Max could hear someone respond while she remained out of sight.

"Rachel! You made it, I'm so glad! Come right in.", a voice new to Max said. This must have been Sera. She did sound friendly enough.

"Mom..."

That was all Rachel mustered to say, embracing her mother lovingly.

"I'm sorry that I ran away last time, I really shouldn't have."

"It's alright honey, you had just received some terrible news. But you did ask for the truth despite my best efforts to keep that pain away from you."

"I know, mom, but I feel better knowing what happened. By the way, before I come in, there is someone here that I want to introduce you to."

This was Max's cue to reveal herself.

Max turned the corner and now beheld their host. She was without the shadow of a doubt Rachel's mother, they resembled each other greatly.

"Hi, I'm Max. I'm uh... Rachel's wife."

Much to Max's elation, Sera seemed pleasantly surprised to see her.

"I'm Sera, no doubt Rachel told you all about me."

"She did."

"You didn't tell me you would bring her.", Sera said to her daughter.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You succeeded. You live up to your reputation."

"Reputation?!", Rachel exclaimed.

"You are wildly unpredictable they say."

"Who is "they"?"

"One thing at a time, come in you two and make yourselves comfortable."

The apartment wasn't big, there was just enough space around the living room for them to comfortably sit. It was somewhat sparsely and unremarkably decorated, looking like a run-of-the-mill housing.

"So you are the Maxine that I heard so much about. Rachel could never stop texting about you.", Sera said, having already answered Max's first question as to why she heard so much about her. "Or should I say... Maxine Amber?"

"Just Max will do.", she responded.

"She is simple like that, she hates it when I call her by her full name.", Rachel pointed out.

"Max, never Maxine. That's my rule. Although I let her get away with calling me that, even if rarely."

"I will be sure to keep that in mind. It's good to see you two. You gotta tell me about your cruise.", Sera said.

Rachel and Max both took turns telling her all about their amazing trip. By the time they finally got done talking about it, a good 20 minutes must have passed.

"Wow, sounds like you had the time of your life.", Sera ended up saying.

"We did, I will forever remember it.", Max said, looking her partner in the eyes.

"Me too.", Rachel said doing the same.

"You really are two peas in a pod. I'm grateful Rachel found someone like you, even though I was surprised to learn she didn't get a boyfriend instead."

"Does that bother you?", Max asked.

"Not at all. It's just that I could imagine the guys lining up for her."

"Mom, don't embarrass me like that.", Rachel said blushing.

"Well... she does have a point.", Max said with a knowing smile.

"Max, not in front of my mom, I have some self-respect!"

"You two are a riot, you really know how to pick them Rachel."

Suddenly, a knock came from the door.

"Sera, I'm home, but I forgot the damn keys, can you let me in?", they heard someone call. The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Max but she couldn't place it.

"Rachel you asked me who "they" were that told me about your reputation? You are about to find out who that is." Sera said before getting up and walking over to the door, opening it for their new visitor.


	31. Prospects

The door swung open, revealing someone Max hadn't seen in a long time and they had changed too.

"Hey, Megan!", Rachel said in pleasant surprise.

Max took another look. This time she was wearing rather contemporary clothing: A dark red t-shirt and jeans, unlike the last time when she saw her decked out in punk clothes. Her hair was still purple though.

"I had no idea we would have company. Hey Rach! I see you brought your partner too, you remember me?", she asked, looking over.

"I do, I just hardly recognized you at first.", Max admitted.

"I get that a lot. I guess I'm not unlike Rachel in that regard that I like to change things up every now and then, at least that's what she used to do."

With Megan having joined them around the table, Rachel asked them the obvious question.

"So, do you guys like live together?"

"We do, but it's different from you two. Megan and I are simply roommates. It became a necessity after we met.", Sera said.

"Necessity? You had to?", Rachel asked.

"Your mother and I met in rehab. I uh... made some foolish mistakes after getting kicked out of Blackwell and we ended up at the same place. We both had nowhere to go really and we were good friends so we agreed to get an apartment together. I told her all I knew about you, Rachel. It's how we ended up arranging for you two to meet. Although I still feel kinda bad for deceiving you that day, I had little choice.", Megan chimed in.

"You got me to meet my mom, how mad can I possibly be at you?", Rachel responded. "It's not like what followed was your responsibility."

"What are you talking about? Did something happen?", Sera asked with concern.

Rachel glanced over at Max as if to ask permission to tell them everything about that terrible evening. She nodded in response and Rachel laid down every single thing that occurred. Her burning wrath, the destruction of a family's memories and the moment Max had stepped in prevent total disaster at her own risk, although she did not mention exactly what she had done to Max as to not reveal the truth about her powers. The room remained quiet for a moment when she had finished.

"I should have never told you any of this.", Sera said, seemingly angry at herself.

"Mom, I would have found out sooner or later, you know that. I regret what happened that evening, but I feel better knowing where I'm standing in life.", Rachel said.

Max dared to say her piece on this.

"It's on James, not you or Rachel that this happened. If he had been upfront with your daughter and not try to shield her from everything, none of the terrible stuff that led to this may have happened."

"I'm sorry, Sera, but I find myself in agreement with Max on this.", Megan said, backing her up.

"It's complicated, we will never know if things would have been better and it doesn't matter now. Things are the way they are and nothing we do will change that. I'm just grateful that we are here right now. I just want no more lies between any of us.", Rachel stated.

"That I can most certainly agree with.", Sera ended up saying.

Next, Rachel sprung a very important question.

"Mom, I was wondering if you'd be open to the idea of leaving Arcadia Bay with us one day."

Sera seemed somewhat taken aback by this, whether from shock or pleasant surprise, Max couldn't tell yet.

"Rachel... I uh..."

"Mom, please.", Rachel said with pleading eyes. This really meant a lot to her.

"Rachel, I'm not against the idea, but consider what you are giving up here. You'd be leaving everything behind that you knew. Your family included."

"That is exactly why I'm suggesting it. I cannot live with my dad anymore, I can't even look him in the eye without feeling the urge to punch him anymore... or do worse. I want out of here mom, there is nothing keeping me here but you and Max."

"I was wondering if you would say something like that sooner or later. I kept my distance as to not sway you, but it seems you made up your mind. Are you truly willing to do that? Even though we only met once before?"

"Yes, mom. _Anywhere_ is better than here. And I fail to see how you can possibly be any worse for me than my dad. I know you think highly of him for some reason, but I do not, I haven't done so for years."

"And how is that going to work?"

"We all pitch in together. Between the four of us, I'm sure we can work something out and find a place of our own... somewhere. It doesn't have to be soon, but I wish to plan this for the future. I have no intent to stay here my whole life, I belong out there and I want to follow my dreams."

"Living together with Rachel and you guys? Count me in.", Megan said giving the idea a thumbs-up.

"What are your dreams, Rachel?", Sera asked her daughter.

"Hit LA and try my luck at modeling or theater. I have been told that I can apparently also sing, at least Max insists. So I have plenty of options to pursue."

"It's true what she says.", Max said. "You should have heard her sing on the cruise ship. The whole bar and surrounding crowd went nuts over her, I have never seen or heard anything like that."

"Really?", Sera asked in astonishment.

"Really. The crowd had her sing two additional songs after her first one and probably would have begged her to stay all night if she hadn't stopped when she did."

"You really think I sang that well?", Rachel asked, smiling at Max.

"For reals, your voice is no less impressive than your looks. Seeing you on stage in that smoking hot red dress of yours, my heart was racing, if I might say so."

"You flatter me, Max.", Rachel said blushing.

"I always had a feeling you would have talent Rachel, but this surprises even me. I'm proud of you.", Sera said.

"I would have loved to witness that action.", Megan stated.

"Thanks, guys, that... that makes me feel good to know you feel that way. I was just having fun with it.", Rachel admitted.

"You weren't the only one having fun.", Max said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Well, Rachel, I will think about it. Like I said, I'm not opposed to it and it is blatantly obvious that Arcadia Bay is dying a slow and painful death so there is that too. My only real problem is convincing James to allow this."

"Mom, give me one more birthday and then there is absolutely _nothing_ he can do to stop me.", Rachel said with a cold expression of determination.

"Fair enough. Let's shelve this for now, but I won't forget about it."

"Thanks, mom, I really appreciate that."

"You really seem to have an urge to leave, don't you?"

"I do, I don't belong here, not without you guys as a reason to be here.", Rachel told her, taking hold of Max's hand.

They exchanged more of their stories, omitting any references to the supernatural events that Sera and Megan didn't know about, most importantly the fact that Rachel knew a counterpart of herself, something she never felt she could share with anyone but Max. After staying for another few hours and looking at all the pictures they took on their trip, they went their separate ways again, but not before everyone had exchanged phone numbers.

* * *

On the way home, Max tried to think about the future. Los Angeles was far from Arcadia Bay and even further away from her own family. Perhaps having lived in Arcadia Bay on her own originally was meant to prepare her for this?

Back at the Amber residence, Max and Rachel spent their remaining hours playing games and enjoying each other's company until it was 6 PM.

"Hey Max, Rose, and my dad aren't home tonight, so no dinner plans."

"It's a bit late to start making something big.", Max said, pointing out the time.

"I suppose I could just call in pizza for us."

"I'm not opposed to that, although I miss the free endless pizza parlor."

"Don't remind me, I should have made more use that than I did, but then again I got a figure to worry about."

"You look unchanged to me."

"More flattery Max? You are just showering me in it today."

"No, I mean it."

"Alright then, I'm calling it in. Any preference?"

"Plain old cheese will do for me."

"Sounds good."

Little over half an hour later, their pizza arrived and they shared it while watching the news. With everything that's been happening, Max felt the need to keep up to date more than usual. A report about another incident in the woods came on.

"Tragically, once again a hiker was found dead this morning by Arcadia Bay Police. The body was found three miles away from any known trails and the evidence points in the direction of him having lost his bearings and succumbing due to lack of food and water. The identity of the victim had not been stated yet. This is the eighth accident of this kind in recent months. More on this later tonight."

"Damn, another one.", Max said.

"What the fuck is doing on in this accursed town?", Rachel said out loud.

"Wait, what is this?"

Another report had come on, this time about yet another business shutdown.

"The Arcadia Bay Fishing Club has officially closed it's doors today. They say that between the lack of actual fishing activity and the rising costs of operation that the Prescott Foundation cut its funds to the organization. No representative from the Foundation was available for comment. The club had been known throughout the fishing community and had been a staple of the town for decades."

"Well, I guess there goes the fishing hall of fame at the Two Whales.", Max said, remembering reading the organization's name before.

"Just another reason to ditch this place.", Rachel said.

The weather report was next.

"Severe weather watches are in effect for all of Tillamook county for tomorrow from 7 AM until 2 PM. Expect strong showers with localized thunderstorms and drive carefully."

"Bad news comes in threes apparently.", Max said.

"Lovely isn't it? I don't mind rain, but that sounds nasty. Be careful out there, ok?"

"I will be fine, just don't you drown out there yourself."

"Max, I've driven through rain before, I think I can handle that."

* * *

After having chowed down on pizza, they went up to their room.

"So Max, let me ask you a question."

"I'm listening."

"Would you dare to watch "The Thing" with me tonight? You claim to be tough, let's see you prove it."

"Sure, I got nothing to lose."

"You will like it I'm sure, but don't blame me if you get nightmares for a while."

The movie was put on and Max could feel quite immersed from the start. However, her mind was not prepared for that followed in the next couple of hours.

As the credits rolled, she just stared at the TV for a while.

"You ok there, Maxter? Hello? Earth to Maxter?", Rachel tried to get her attention.

"Holy shit.", she uttered once out of her brief stupor. "That was hella terrifying."

"Couldn't have said it better myself.", Rachel agreed.

"Ok, screw sharks, that is literally the scariest thing I have ever seen!", Max ended up saying. "How do you know if someone is the creature?"

"You don't, that's what makes it so scary. You can't trust anyone and they don't trust you. If you think about it, the characters themselves did a lot of damage with their own actions without the monster doing anything."

"And how about that ending? Who's to say both those guys are human?"

"That's been debated endlessly, we won't know unless they make a sequel, which sadly never came."

"Aw, this seemed like a good movie though."

"Oh no argument there, it's just that it flopped in its early days and only gained popularity over time. They did make a prequel three years ago, which was supposedly ok, but no continuation was ever filmed. I've yet to see the prequel actually.", Rachel admitted.

"Bummer, I liked it, scary as it was. Although I have seen enough gore to last me a month."

Max tended to her diary now, trying to process the horrifying imagines she had just witnessed. Perhaps writing about them would put her mind at ease.

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"I usually don't ask this but I feel like I have to."

"What is it, my dear?"

"I uh... I was gonna write my diary entry about today and I wanted to make sure you are ok with me writing about what happened this morning, you know, at the cemetery?"

"You never asked me for permission before.", Rachel pointed out. "Not that I ever had any reservations about your writing. It's your diary right? No one else will ever read it."

"Yeah, but... you admitted something very private to me this morning and I didn't wanna risk angering you if you saw me write about it."

"Are you talking about my admittance that I would be nothing without you and that I could barely say that because I was so worked up about it?"

"Yes, that's what I meant, I respect your feelings so I didn't want to assume anything."

Rachel got close to Max, lying shoulder to shoulder now.

"Max, you have my blessing to write anything you wish to, it is your diary, not mine. You have my express permission."

"Thank you very much. I love you."

Max reached over and kissed Rachel to show her appreciation for giving her trust.

"I love you too, Max. Go on, write your thoughts down.", Rachel said, before paying attention to her phone.

Focusing on the diary now, Max wrote her feelings and thoughts without omitting anything, which felt emotionally liberating. Suddenly, Rachel stopped messing with her phone, taking a closer look at Max's diary and having seemingly realized something.

"Max... oh my god.", she said with her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"You... the way you write this... you are writing to Chloe, aren't you?", Rachel asked, careful as to not hurt any feelings.

"I am. I have been writing to her ever since... well, you know."

"Wow, I should have never even looked at this, I'm so sorry!"

Rachel tried getting up, but Max stopped her.

"Don't go please, I'm not mad! If I had a problem with you seeing this, I would have said something already. I doubt Chloe would mind either."

"As long as you don't me knowing what's going on in your mind. Ok, I will stay."

Rachel remained next to her, gently moving her hands under Max's shirt and across her back.

Max was thinking. If the Rachel she got to know almost a year ago would have discovered this, there would have been hell to pay based on what had occurred then. Instead, she was understanding and downright apologetic about having even dared to look at it. Max wasn't the only one who had changed in this relationship. It made her feel warm and relaxed to know this.

* * *

After about 20 minutes, Rachel got up.

"Max, I'll be in the shower. Gotta be presentable for tomorrow.", she said.

"Ok.", Max responded, having put up her diary for the day.

Rachel gathered her new set of clothes remarkably slowly for some reason.

"I said I will be in the _shower_.", she said again with everything in hand.

Max looked up now, somewhat confused.

"Uh yeah, you said so, I heard you."

"No Max, you clearly didn't hear me _correctly_ , wink wink nudge nudge."

Finally, after staring for a moment, something clicked in Max's brain.

"Oh... oh!", she exclaimed, putting her hands on her face in embarrassment. She felt really silly out of the sudden. "I take it I'm invited along again?", she asked.

"You _most certainly_ are. Let's just say that between our somewhat precarious experience in the cabin shower and your romantic caress last night I'm feeling inclined to conduct... further experiments, with your permission of course. Plus, I wonder if I get to read about _this_ in your diary.", Rachel said softly and with a wink.

Max felt excited at the prospect, but a painful memory came to light at that moment.

"Just promise me one thing this time, Rachel."

"And what's that my love?"

"Don't let me drop the soap."

Rachel laughed hard in response and could barely contain herself.

"What? What did I say?", Max said in honest perplexion at Rachel's reaction.

"Max, you crack me up, you know that? How can you say that with a straight face?!"

"What? I don't get it! What's so funny?"

Rachel calmed down again but was still grinning.

"Oh, I love you, Max, please don't ever lose your innocent edge!"


	32. Significant Others

Max entered the bathroom, with Rachel already waiting, beckoning her to enter the shower. She followed her in all too willingly, feeling her pulse quicken. Now inside and with the shower curtain closed, Rachel now faced her.

"Now I've got you right where I wanted you.", she said, with satisfaction in her voice.

Before Max's very own eyes, Rachel's body suddenly underwent a hideous transformation, sprouting new and grotesque limbs, with blood flying everywhere. Tentacles, new arms with scythe-like bones, and additional animal-like legs, some of them insect-like, started growing out of every part of her body and her head split wide open, revealing what appeared to be a black bird-like beak now growing outwards. The abomination emitted a roar so haunting, so terrifying it would shake even the bravest people to their core, sounding like a million souls crying out in desperation, the dying screams of its countless past victims. Max was next to be added to its collection of shapes to steal.

As she could feel a giant blade of bone impale her through her stomach, the thing let out something resembling a cackling laugh in anticipation of it's newest acquisition.

Then, Max woke up screaming, hands to her abdomen, but nothing was there.

"Max, are you ok? What happened?!", she could hear Rachel say next to her.

She faced her and to Max's relief, she was normal, still having her regular human amount of limbs.

"A nightmare, that damn movie got me good."

"I warned you that isn't for the faint of heart. But you insisted to be a badass, so there you go."

"It's on me, but man, you should have seen what I just witnessed."

"I can imagine. Try to go back to sleep.", Rachel said with a yawn.

It took Max a while to calm down again, but eventually, she fell back asleep, mercifully with her dreams free of shape-shifting monstrosities from space.

* * *

It was time for Max to go back to Blackwell this morning, as Summer Break had come to an end. It had now been almost a year that Max had lived in this reality and her birthday was coming up in about two weeks from now.

With Rachel working at the Two Whales as a waitress, she would have to deal with school alone from now on, although Rachel had offered to help her out if needed with anything she needed assistance with, which Max appreciated.

On the way to school, the weather was dreadful. It was pouring down heavily, much like the forecast stated, and thunder could be heard in the distance. Max thought about the revelations that Rachel managed to uncover by talking to her counterpart still. It was such a shame that she was forced to do these things, not knowing how else to help both Chloe, as well as herself, escape from Arcadia Bay. Still, Max wondered if there may have been other ways she could have gotten the money or persuaded Chloe to become more than what she was. At that moment, however, Max remembered how Chloe reacted to her criticism and how debating with her felt like arguing with a brick wall. It would have appeared that even someone with a strong personality such as Rachel wasn't able to bend her against her will. This had occupied Max's mind for a while now and even though Rachel kept reminding her that none of it was her fault, she deep down still felt that way and she still underwent her frequent emotional episodes, with her partner and diary as her only means of therapy and coping.

Arriving at the Blackwell parking lot, Max got out of the bus and proceeded to walk on campus by herself, with an umbrella in hand. It felt weird, as she caught herself looking around, expecting to see Rachel reaching for her hand as usual, but she wasn't there. She had grown so accustomed to always having her by her side, it felt like she was incomplete, as if part of her being was missing.

She had dressed for the occasion, this time sporting a black t-shirt with a moth graphic on it and the red flannel that Rachel would usually wear. She hoped that in some way this would instill some confidence in her, which Rachel would naturally had found flattering to hear. It also smelled like jasmine, giving Max comfort due to the familiarity of its scent. It was almost as if Rachel was really there with her. It wasn't the first time in her life that Max wore it though.

At first, everything seemed calm enough, but soon Max noticed some commotion going on near the main entrance. She heard loud and aggressive voices over the noise of the rain and decided to investigate. When she got closer, she saw Daniel getting ganged up on by three guys, one of them was Nathan, with the other two having been without a doubt his personal Vortex Club bodyguards. She could see them pointing at Daniel and mocking him. Daniel himself seemed to be near tears. Of course, school security was nowhere to be seen.

It would appear that Nathan didn't learn his lesson the last time. Max was about to say something when Warren stepped in between the bullies and Daniel, trying to protect him.

"Leave him alone alright? He's done nothing to your precious club.", she could hear Warren say.

Nathan was not impressed.

"Oh look, it's loser-boy! The fuck do you want with him? Can't even keep a girlfriend, how is he gonna rely on you, nerd?", Nathan mocked him.

Max finally had seen enough of this nonsense and clenched her fists in anger.

She took the direct approach, knocked Nathan down from behind when he wasn't paying attention and held him in a wristlock, much like a policeman would do to a criminal.

"I thought I told you to stop messing with my friends, Prescott!", she shouted, almost spitting his name in disgust.

"You again?!"

"Yes, me again, because you can't seem to stop being a fucking prick. Now are you gonna get lost or do I need to bend your arm further? I'm fine either way, really."

Nathan grunted, trying to wrestle free but no avail.

"What are you idiots doing? Get her, damn it!", he yelled at his henchmen.

Before the other two could do anything, Warren and even Daniel both came to her side to cover her and keeping them at bay.

"Is this asshole really worth the effort guys?", Warren said to them.

Giving each other questioning glances, the other two guys turned and walked away, leaving Nathan by himself.

Max let him go now.

"You are going to pay for that, mark my words!", he said in a threatening manner while walking off.

"Oh, boohoo, are you gonna run home and cry? I suggest you do, it's all you are good for. Fuck off, Nathan!", Max sneered, now paying attention to Daniel.

"You alright there, Daniel?"

"You are like my personal superhero, both of you really.", he said to both Max and Warren. "Seriously, thank you. Why did you do this?"

"First of all, you are welcome and second of all, I'm sick and tired of Nathan's shit. I've seen him bully one too many people to just stand here and do nothing.", she said.

The real reason for her sudden anger was the memory of Nathan trying to do who knows what to Rachel the last time she had a confrontation with him.

"I thought you were Rachel at first, your clothes threw me for a loop.", Daniel said.

"Max, the badass! Never thought I would see you do this again.", Warren admitted.

"Thanks for helping Warren, I'm just glad we were both here when he needed us."

Then, Max saw the security guard walk by and she had a bone to pick with him.

"I will see you on break, Warren, leave this guy to me.", she said, leaving Warren and Daniel behind.

"Max, you doing ok?", the guard said, unaware of what had just happened.

"You just missed a tussle between me and Nathan, why are you never around when we need you?"

"I'm sorry, I got distracted by Justin's mom violating the parking lot rules again."

"Skip, why do only have one security guard for a school this huge anyway? This is worse than Black Mesa."

He seemed to think about this for a moment.

"Budget cuts? You can thank the Prescotts for that. Also, what's Black Mesa?"

"Nevermind, I'm just pissed Nathan always gets away like this."

"Just don't mess Nathan up too bad, I can only look past so much and I really don't want his dad to get on my ass if you know what I mean. I've had this job for a while and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Oh, please, the only thing I _really_ hurt was his ego."

"Since when do you have that attitude anyway? Not that I'm complaining."

"I guess this is what happens when the same guy harasses you and your friends often enough and you are married to Rachel freaking Amber."

Skip chuckled at that remark.

"You are cool, Max. I will promise to keep my eyes on him more. I gotta continue my rounds now, take care."

"Later, Skip."

* * *

The rest of Max morning was thankfully a lot more peaceful. She hoped Rachel had a better start of the day than she did, however. During photography class, Mr. West addressed everyone about something before starting his lecture.

"I'm sure you guys had a terrific Summer Break and probably can't wait to get started, but there is one more matter to address before we begin today. The Everyday Heroes contest deadline is fast approaching. You have only two days left to turn in your entries. I'm still missing some of you, for example, Ms. Caulfield over here.", he said looking at Max and gesturing with his arm.

"Still Mrs. Amber.", she said in correction, holding up her ring.

Some of the students chuckled.

"One of these days I'm gonna remember that I promise.", he said, seeming rather embarrassed.

"Also, Mr. West? I actually do have my entry now.", she said presenting the photograph she took on Roatán.

"Well, I take it back then, Mrs. Amber, you clearly came here prepared! Thank you for participating."

Mr. West took her photograph and put it in an envelope, which already contained numerous other pictures as well. Max crossed her fingers.

"Is there anyone else who wants to follow Mrs. Amber's example and turn theirs in too?", he asked.

A couple of hands were raised and he went ahead and collected further entries.

"So by my count, I seem to be only missing Alyssa and Taylor now. Two days are left ladies, don't let them go to waste if you want a shot at flying to San Francisco!", he warned.

* * *

Later during a break, she made good on her promise and sought out Warren, who was sitting by himself in the cafeteria drinking a soda.

"Hey, Warren, mind if I join you?", she asked.

"Sure, go ahead. Join me in drowning my sorrows in lots of sugar.", he responded.

"Nathan did say something rather ugly to you this morning. Is it true?"

"He's an asshole, but he spoke the truth when he said that I lost Stella."

"You broke up?"

"More like..., she broke up with me really. I still don't know why."

"Aw, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, it's just my lot in life."

Max remembered the original timeline and based on it, made a suggestion.

"Don't sell yourself short Warren, I know one girl that I know would totally be into you."

"No offense, Max, but you are taken and I know better than to risk the wrath of Rachel Amber."

"Not me you goof."

"Who then?"

"Brooke Scott. You two are literally made for each other."

"Brooke? Huh. Yeah I know she's into science but we never really talked much."

"Tell you what, I talk to her and gather some intel for you, see how she feels about you."

"Why are you so nice to me Max? We barely know each other and yet, you treat me like you've known me your whole life or something."

Max was tempted to drop the whole time travel story on him, but that would take far longer to explain than their break permitted at this point. Another time perhaps.

"Because you have done a good deed today by standing up for Daniel. Heroes deserve some kind of reward."

"If you say so, now excuse me, I'm trying to get high on sugar."

"Is it working?"

"Let me get another can and find out, see you around, Max.", he said, walking off to find a vending machine.

Max still had some time left and decided to search for Brooke. With the rain having stopped for the moment, she looked around the schoolyard, keeping an eye out for a flying drone. Odds are, where there was a drone, Brooke wouldn't be far away. She hoped that she and Brooke would get along better now, due to her no longer being envious about Warren having an interest in Max as it used to be.

Eventually, Max spotted a drone flying and followed in around, in hopes of locating it's user and was eventually successful. She found Brooke standing around by herself near Daniel's favorite tree, focused on her pad that she used to operate the drone. She had not changed much at all in this timeline and still sported the same black hair and glasses.

"Hey, Brooke.", Max greeted her.

"Oh, it's you, Max. What can I do for you?"

"I'm just curious about something."

"You are always curious, it's your trademark."

"Guilty as charged."

"What are you curious about?"

"I was wondering what you thought about Warren?"

Brooke gave her a long and questioning look.

"Max, you are married to Rachel Amber, honestly, you shouldn't even have to weigh your options here. I'm not even into girls and I'm somewhat jealous of you."

Max couldn't help but realize that no matter what timeline, Brooke always envied her over something.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm not asking out of my own interest, more in general.", she rephrased herself.

"In "general" huh? Well, if you gotta know, _in general_ , I find him cute, very smart and I wish he would come here by himself to ask me this. Did he send you here?", Brooke asked directly.

"Actually, he didn't, I'm doing this of my own free will, believe it or not. I just think you two are a good match."

"Really? Never thought of you that way. Warren and I seem to have common interests, but he never approached me. I'm more into robotics then chemistry, personally, unlike my sister Hayley who you could lock up in a chemistry lab for days and she wouldn't complain. He and I would chit chat and that's it. Not much I could do with Stella having him under her boot, you know?"

"Actually, they broke up recently.", Max stated.

Brooke seemed surprised to hear this and she obviously tried to hide her excitement upon hearing this.

"Well... ok, in that case, that changes things a little bit, doesn't it?"

"It does.", Max said smiling.

"Alright, tell Warren to meet me at the Two Whales after school, if he dares. I'll be waiting"

"I will tell him."

Max had no time left to find Warren all over again, so instead, she texted him Brooke's suggestion.

After school was out, Max felt good about herself. Despite the rough start of the day earlier, it was overall a successful one. It would still be some time until Rachel would get off work and come home, so Max didn't rush to get there.

Upon returning, she stayed in their room doing her homework. Eventually, around the time Rachel was supposed to get off work, Max received a message from her.

 _"Hey, Max! I'm gonna be running late by an hour or two, in case you are wondering where the hell I am, which I cannot tell you (please don't worry!). From Rachel with love - RA -"_

Again Rachel was off doing something without Max knowing what or where it was. What was going on? Instead of worrying, she followed her partner's advice of trying not to do so and she focused on writing in her diary. She must have fallen asleep at some point, as the next thing she remembered was getting woken up later.

* * *

"Hey, wake up Maxter, it's not time to sleep yet."

Rachel was home and had come up to her. This got Max wide and alert rather quickly and she did not hesitate to go in for a kiss after a long day of longing for one. In her rather sleep-drunken eagerness, she clumsily knocked Rachel over on to the bed with her but didn't care.

"Oh, someone missed me! I missed you too, Max."

Rachel glanced up and down on her and raised an eyebrow.

"You took my clothes this morning? Is that my reward for letting you sleep in?"

"I felt like it, Daniel even confused me for you at first."

"That's cute. I don't mind Max, I was just messing with you."

"I know how you roll at this point and hey, you can borrow my clothes too if you like."

"I might just give that a try at some point."

"How was your first day of work?", she asked.

"It was not bad actually. Due to the rain all morning we weren't as busy as I expected, which gave me some time to get used to everything. But yeah, it was alright, I mean check this out!"

Rachel revealed what she had been hiding in her pockets and produced a wad of money. Max counted it.

"153 dollars?! Wow.", she said astonishment.

"Turns out you predicted correctly. I was being tipped like hella crazy all day long. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find that gratifying. Oh and guess who showed up this afternoon?", Rachel asked.

"Brooke and Warren?", Max responded.

"How did you know that? Did you spy on me at work or something?"

"No... I uh... I set them up for a date."

"A date? _You_? For reals?"

"For reals. Warren was feeling down this morning over Stella having dumped him and I found him the perfect partner to lift his spirits."

"Max, you astound me sometimes. Didn't you always tell me that Warren used to be into you before?"

"He used to be and yeah it got kinda annoying but he's still a good guy. I'm relieved knowing he's my friend now. I even get along with Brooke much better now too."

"Max the matchmaker!", Rachel said grinning and with a beaming expression.

"I figured, I've met my match, so I might as well help others find theirs."

"But why Brooke of all people? How did you know she was so good for him?"

"Because where I come from, she made it obvious that she was jealous of me for getting Warren's attention so much without me even doing anything. Plus, they are both science eggheads, so I figured that should be enough. Did they seem happy to you when you saw them?"

"Very. I didn't catch much of their conversation having been busy waiting tables, but yes, there was definitely some... _chemistry_ going on."

This pun was so bad, Max would not allow her to get away with that.

"Wow, what are doing?!"

She went straight for Rachel's neck and started branding her with a nice love bite. She knew Rachel liked this, so it wasn't much of a punishment anymore, but she still felt gratified in doing so. After having sucked her partner's neck like a vampire, Rachel gave her a very curious look.

"You've been dying to give me that weren't you?"

"Honestly? Yeah, you had it coming."

"Well in that case..."

Rachel presented her vulnerable neck, leaving herself in a rather submissive position.

"May I please get another?"

"Wow, really?"

"I insist."

Max did as Rachel demanded. Using both her lips and teeth to brand her yet again, this time though she went about it a bit more slowly, leaving Rachel breathless for but a moment as she uttered a satisfied moan.

"You are weird.", Max said afterward. "I didn't take you for a masochist when we met, rather the opposite."

"Just like I didn't see you as the romantic type at first, if anything, back then I assumed our love life would end being horribly one-sided. Needless to say, I'm happy having been wrong about that prediction."

"Tell me about how we met, I mean the day I moved here. I know you mentioned it before, but you didn't go into detail."

"I remember that moment well, let's see..."

In her mind, Rachel brought back the memory of that day.

* * *

Rachel approached the train station with great excitement. Finally, after all these years of communicating only online, she could finally meet her girlfriend in person for the first time ever. She walked up the platform and waited. She couldn't remember ever feeling so impatient before, which was saying something. She was early and kept staring at the clock hoping in vain to make it move faster already, but time was impartial to her desires. She paced around, full of energy that she couldn't contain or expel.

Finally, after long minutes of waiting the train came into view and entered the station, stopping to let its passengers off. Rachel looked around frantically, trying to find Max's face among the crowd of people. So many of them came off the train, it was hard to keep track of everyone and she found herself surrounded by passing travelers. She had not noticed that someone had noticed her however and stood just a few feet away, with a suitcase in hand.

"That blue feather you have on your ear... is that you Rachel?", she could hear a familiar voice say. She turned and she found who she was looking for. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at that moment.

"Max!", she exclaimed in great excitement. Her mind tried to tell her to take it easy, but her heart wished to no longer wait. She walked right up to Max, with a joyous expression on her face and gently laid her hands on her shoulders, and, after realizing that they were now alone, just went for a kiss.

Maxine clearly didn't expect that.

The experience felt surreal, but like the greatest thing ever. Her partner seemed to be in shock and not sure how to reciprocate it though.

"Max, it's really you, I still can't believe it!", she yelled.

"Rachel, you look... wowser you are beautiful. But I do have to insist on you calling me Maxine, remember?"

"Me? Look at yourself! You are so cute, I never wanna let go of you again!", Rachel said, moving her hand through Maxine's hair. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like it when I call you that, but I got too excited!"

"I wasn't expecting that kiss, by the way."

"I had to do that, Maxine, I have kept that desire bottled up for years and I wasn't gonna wait any longer, forgive my impatience."

"The thing is, I... have never kissed before.", Maxine admitted.

"Wait... are you serious?"

"I am, what you just did, that was a first for me."

"Well... uh did you like it?"

"I did, a lot more than I thought I would. May I kiss you?", Maxine asked.

"Maxine, that is one question I never wanna hear again. You can kiss me a million times over, the answer will always be yes. Go for it!"

"I'm kinda new to this still, so don't hate me."

"I promise I won't."

"Ok, but can you close your eyes?"

Rachel did as she was asked and had closed her eyes, with all her other senses in high expectancy. Then she could feel Maxine's lips carefully making contact with her own, a far cry from the rather forceful entrance she had made a moment ago. Still surrendering herself to her partner, she could feel Maxine having laid her arms around her. She felt so happy at that moment that she could have cried, having desired this love more than anything ever since the near-death encounter with that train a few years ago.

When Maxine had let go again, Rachel's eyes were watery, a fact she couldn't hide anymore upon opening them.

"What's wrong, was I that bad?", Maxine asked concerned.

She shook her head in response.

"No, Maxine, on the contrary. I'm just very happy. Happier than I have ever been in my life, thanks to you. Come, let's go home. I cannot wait to introduce you."

"That felt good, I want to go further than that, though.", Maxine said with determination.

"One thing at a time hotshot, you aren't even 18 yet.", Rachel said laughing.

Hand in hand, they walked off the platform, leaving the train station behind.

* * *

After Rachel was done telling Max of her story, the watery eyes had returned. Speaking of this experience made her go through it all over again.

"Wow, that sounds amazing, I wish I had actually been there for that.", Max said.

"You know what, it's ok. _Our_ first encounter was quite interesting as well, and not all that different if you think about it. The first thing you did when coming here was running into me and the first thing I did was to kiss you, although for different reasons, still, it's not bad as far "first contact" goes.", Rachel said wiping her tears away.

"You seemed emotional reliving that moment."

"Understatement of the century, Max. It was one of the greatest moments of my life."

"Maybe you should write a diary yourself?", Max suggested.

"Interesting idea, Max. I will think about it."

"It helps me process things easier, leaves less weight on my shoulders if that makes any sense. Plus, daily rituals are important."

"Wise words, from a wise person."


	33. Dear Diary

September 10th, 2014

 _Dear Chloe,_

 _Another day comes to an end in Arcadia Bay and once more it's my turn to write you. This morning Nathan gave me the worst death glare you can imagine after I put him in his place yesterday... AGAIN. I don't even wanna know what is going in that guy's head, but it's nothing good, I know that much. I feel like I need to protect Rachel from him now, given what we've learned. How come that people like him who have all the money and luxury always feel the need to put down the less fortunate ones? His dad is the same way, I heard he got three dozen people fired at a local factory last week. At this rate, this town will be gone before I graduate here and I won't take a freaking tornado for that to happen anymore! Such bullshit! But what can I do about that? Hella nothing, is what._

 _Well anyway, Warren was smiling wide this morning like I've never seen before. He proudly told me all about him and Brooke having had a good time at the Two Whales and that they wanna go out on more dates now. I guess Rachel was right, I turned out to be quite the matchmaker. The only thing it took to accomplish this was obtaining knowledge from another universe, that's all._

 _I wonder if I stand any chance in this contest the school is having. I love the photo I took, unlike the last one I tried to turn in a long time ago. I still remember that one, it was just a shot me from the back and some photographs as a background. Should I have kept that in hindsight? Well, it doesn't matter anymore, that timeline is gone now. Or is it?_

 _I think my puny human brain will never be able to get an answer to that. How can there be two different universes existing at the same time? Is all of our existence merely a single river whose flow can be changed or is it a series of rivers and all I've done was go from one to another? UGH! Gives me headaches just thinking about it. The fact that I saw a vision of what must have been my old reality tells me though that you might still exist out there somehow and we are just separated by an impenetrable wall that you aren't even aware of. I remember seeing that doodle on your room wall that you labeled "Hole to another universe?". Boy, do I wish that was a real thing right now! But at least there seemed to be another me with you, so maybe you are not entirely alone. Do you wanna know the worst part? I mean other than the fact that we may be separated like this? It's the fact that I know Rachel is alive here and I can't even give you the comfort to know this. She deserved better than to die to a creep like Nathan. I'm not gonna lie, I missed her all day at school again. It's harder to get used to than I thought. I still feel like one half of my body is missing when she isn't around. I'm used to thinking of "us" instead of "Me" now. I can only imagine what you would say to me if I told you this._

 _Anyway, I got home this afternoon and once more, Rachel was nowhere to be found. Sounds familiar at this point doesn't it? I still don't know what it is she's been up to and I don't know how to act on it. I trust her, but still, the story of her counterpart has me worried you know? I don't wanna assume that she is doing something stupid behind my back, but all this secrecy isn't helping and sounds kinda familiar. At least I know for a fact that Frank is dead, so he can't have anything to do with it this time, but still, I worry. She REALLY wants to get out of here, I can tell. If it weren't for me, there would be no holding her back I feel. Chloe, what if she is doing something desperate to make money? I don't want to see her in danger ever again and I have no idea how much longer I can keep my mouth shut as to not risk a fight. I mean, we don't fight often but I've seen how she gets when she's angry. There's a Chinese proverb that says "Wake not a sleeping lion." That has never been truer before._

 _Well, she eventually came home and proudly presented me with her daily MOUNTAIN of tips. Over 200 freaking dollars! She made even more than the day before and I can only imagine how she was working her charms on everyone. I don't mind it though, it's business and I know the purpose of it. I have had the first-hand experience of how flirty she can be and it's no wonder people are literally throwing money at her. It is all too obvious that she loves this kind of admiration and I wish she could be receiving that on a theater stage or a runway instead of a diner, but beggars can't be choosers now can they? One day, that's what we have to keep telling each other. One day, she WILL make the world bow to her, it's just a matter of time. UGH, time! I'm starting to hate that word, for reals._

 _Rachel wants to watch TV now and I have just about run out of things to say. I wish you a nice evening, wherever it is you are right now._

 _Max (the Matchmaker)_

* * *

 _09/10/2014_

 _So, courtesy of Maxter's idea I decided to start my own journal or diary. She thinks it's therapeutic and she is usually right about these things. So let's see how this goes._

 _Where do I start?_

 _This morning Max insisted that we had breakfast together. I know she only get's up so early not because she has to but because I do. At this point, we only spend our evenings together and I can tell it's been kinda hard on her. I miss her at work too, but I'm so busy there I don't get much time to think, which is probably for the better. The work is repetitive as hell, but that's to be expected. The tips and Joyce always having my back made the day worth it though._

 _Speaking of tips, I scored a big fat 50 dollar bill from some rich guy who came here from New York. He said I belong on stage and and not a diner, a flattering statement for sure, but there are no theaters here, not the ones I have in mind anyway. He asked for my email address and says he knows a guy who knows a guy, you know, the usual game of connections. I'm not holding my breath, personally. He probably just took pity on me for being stuck here, not that I blame him really._

 _Other than that our place was packed, like hella packed. By the time it was all over and I was about to leave, a freaking school bus came to stop. A school bus! Full of hungry kids! It was like something out of a Gremlins movie, with all the noise and trash being tossed around._

 _Well, I got to stay at work for another half hour as a result and I suppose I made a bit more money that way, which is nice, but man was I wiped out. It barely gave me any time for... well actually I don't wanna write about that, lest little Max get's her hands on this thing. MAX IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE VIOLATING MY PRIVACY! Just kidding, read on... if you dare! ;)_

 _Anyway..._

 _After getting home Max asked where I've been and I told her (again) not to worry about it. She's getting increasingly suspicious and is probably imagining all worst-case scenarios ever conceived. I just need a bit more time, that is all. I know she's always been the nosy type, but for once I wish she'd just believe me and take my word for it. Although, I suspect that having told her about what my counterpart told me probably didn't help in this situation. It will be worth it in the end, I know._

 _Part of me still wonders if that really was another me that I talked to those two times. She looked like me, talked like me and knew exactly which of my buttons to press. It's funny to think that I apparently can go visit myself in my sleep if I so desire, how messed up is that? I suppose one day if I ever were to need a second opinion or advice on something (or would it be my own opinion?!) I can always talk to her... myself? Wow, that made no sense whatsoever and yet it does._

 _That's it for today. I make no promises to make this a daily thing like Max, but we will see._

 _Maxter, if you are STILL reading this, I want you to know that I love you, even if you are a nosy snooper who can't keep her nose out of other people's diaries! You are lucky you are so cute._

 _\- RA -_


	34. Accusation

After ten days of going through their regular work and school routine, Max and Rachel finally found themselves adjusting to their new life. They both eagerly anticipated coming home to each other, but they both committed themselves to their duties as well, reminding themselves who they were doing this for. Rachel had it easier than Max in this regard, but even she eventually adjusted properly.

It was now the day before Max's 19th birthday. Since it was a Saturday, they were happy to be able to share these two whole days together. They sat by the dining table, enjoying breakfast like usual, after properly sleeping in of course.

"Guess who's birthday it is tomorrow?", Rachel mused.

"Mine.", Max answered.

"Damn straight it is. My little Max is finally turning 19."

"Little? May I remind you, again, that we are like the exact same height?"

"I'm well aware, which I gotta admit is convenient. I'm just happy is all."

"I know it's my birthday and all, but you seem overly chipper about it for some reason."

"Well, it is the first birthday I actually get to celebrate with you properly, you know? I know we did a do-over of your last one but that wasn't quite the same, though I still enjoyed it, I know you did."

"I did, and this should be a nice day. I'm not huge on parties though."

"No worries, Max I don't have a surprise party up my sleeve."

"Of course you say that anyone who does would."

"As would those who don't. Seriously, I know how you feel about that and I swear that there will be no party with half the school coming over."

"I take your word for it, I was looking forward to some "us-time" if you know what I mean."

"Oh, you need not worry about that.", Rachel said with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't mean that... well... actually..."

"Yes, Max?", Rachel asked with a knowing smile.

"That's not the only "us-time" I had in mind. I just want to enjoy your company for a while."

"I get ya. I too was looking forward to just hanging with you. Having two days off certainly helps."

Rachel glanced at Max's hair.

"Do I need to douse you in dye again? Your color is fading.", she pointed out.

"Is it? I take it you aren't sick of it yet?"

"Max, I don't think I ever will be, blue just looks too good on you, sorry."

"Well, for what it's worth I still dig your red streaks you got going on. Which might need some re-doing as well."

"Our customers as the Two Whales often comment on it, it seems you had a stroke of genius when you suggested that. Do you wanna do this now? We got all day and tomorrow, might as well get it over with. Gives us something to do.", Rachel suggested.

* * *

They both went ahead and dyed their hair again, helping each other as needed. After it was all done, Rachel was happy with the results.

"There's the deep blue I like, how do I look Maxter?", she asked.

"Terrific, as always."

"Well thank you.", Rachel said with a grateful gesture.

"Rachel?", Max asked, sounding somewhat worried for a reason Rachel didn't know yet.

"Yes, Max?"

Max let out a deep sigh and apparently wasn't sure how to phrase whatever it is she was contemplating to say.

"I'm just gonna be honest, that's what you always expect."

"Of course, I wish no secrets between us."

"Then... then tell me what you are doing whenever you come home late, I'm seriously worried at this point. I've been keeping quiet because you told me to trust you with it but..."

"But what?"

"I have to know, just so I can tell my doubts to go away."

"Your doubts? Are you implying that you don't believe me?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then why do you look so terrified? Did you think I can't sense that?"

"Rachel, please. That's why I need to know... to know you aren't making the same mistake."

"The same mistake?"

What did Max mean by that? Rachel thought about it for a second and then realized what was really being implied here. Upon her realization, it felt like a poisonous arrow had just pierced her heart.

"Max, you aren't saying what I think you are saying?! Are you implying that I... that I'm sleeping around? Pushing drugs behind your back? Like my counterpart did?"

"I don't know, I'm scared to think about that but I don't believe that."

"Not scared enough to bring it up. You really think I'd do that? After what you and I have been through?!"

"I know you want out of here and I'm terrified to think you might just disappear on me."

"Max... that hurts. That really... really hurts.", she said, near tears.

"I take it back, please, forget I ever said anything.", Max begged.

Rachel's emotions boiled into a volatile mix of disappointment and anger.

"No, I won't. I couldn't forget that accusation if I tried. I'm deeply offended that you would think of me to capable of such a heinous thing. I gave you my word that I was not up to anything dangerous or treacherous and yet... here I stand accused, by none other than you. I can't believe this is happening right now.", Rachel fumed.

"Then just tell me what is really going on. Tell me that you aren't seeing someone else behind my back so I can put my mind at ease!"

"I meant to tell you at first, but at this point? No, for this offense you quite frankly don't deserve an answer!"

"I don't deserve it? I am your wife!"

"MY WIFE WOULD TRUST MY WORD!", Rachel yelled, now crying, the pain unbearable for her. "I only meant to do something nice for you... and this is how I get repaid for it? Figures, no one ever truly trusts me, just because HER shadow still taints my image. I thought you of all people would know the difference between us, Max. I wish I had never told you about what she did, it doesn't fucking matter anyway. I could say the same things about you if I felt like it. I don't know who you hang with at school or what you are doing in your spare time when I'm gone, but do you see me doubt your trust? No, you don't, because I love you and give you all the freedom to socialize as you please. It is deeply disappointing that you would think that I don't have the moral backbone to do the same. Now if you excuse me, I need some air, I will be back later. I want you to think long and hard about what you have just said."

Rachel eyed the bracelet on Max's arm, the one she used to have and ended up gifting to Max shortly after her arrival in Arcadia Bay.

"The bracelet, give it to me.", she demanded.

Max was beside herself and in shock at this point.

"Why?"

"Because I say so, I will hold on to it until I get the impression that you have learned how much you just hurt me.", she said holding her open hand towards Max, expecting to receive her old item back.

Under tears of her own, Max untied it and handed it over, dropping it into Rachel's hands.

"I'm sorry.", she said quivering.

"A little early, Max. Let that feeling sink in for a while. Maybe then you will truly understand what you have done here.", Rachel said, fighting back against her inner fire that urged her to do worse, but she maintained in control.

For the first time in over a year, she put on her signature bracelet. The sensation was odd, yet familiar. She had never expected to wear it again. Then, she turned around and walked off, leaving the house by car. There was somewhere she wanted to be right now and she was going to show Max just how wrong she was in her assumptions soon enough.

* * *

Max was crying in solitude, she felt so stupid over what she had done and would have loved to slap herself in the face over it. Her wrist felt naked without the bracelet she had ever since she came here. She indeed had committed a great offense, but she still didn't know what Rachel was actually doing without her knowing about it.

In desperation, she reached out and tried to concentrate, which wasn't easy considering her emotional turmoil. The rewind was not working, as expected. Fate was truly cruel.

She went up to their room and collapsed in a corner a broken down mess. Her only comfort was a box of tissues which she went through alarmingly quickly to stop her tears. Rachel was right, that much she knew. She had made a big mistake this time and didn't realize it. She woke the sleeping lion and got punished for it, maybe the Chinese had a point with their proverb.

Hours passed with nothing happening. Max remained alone in her sorrows and Rachel remained absent. She tried distracting herself but to no avail. With nowhere to turn, she thought about who she could talk to as she got her phone out. Browsing her contacts, she came across Megan's entry. Even though she didn't know her well yet, Max had felt like she was trustworthy and that perhaps she had an idea. She dialed the number and waited for a response. Of all her friends, she knew Rachel better than anyone else.

"Hello?", she could hear Megan say upon picking up.

"Hey, Megan, it's Max."

"Max? Hey, nice to hear from you. You don't sound good, are you ok?"

"I'm not. As a matter of fact, I fucked up."

"Fucked up? What happened if I might ask?"

"I said something to Rachel that I shouldn't have and I need to talk to someone who knows her."

"What did you say to her?"

Max gave Megan a recap of their confrontation, sparing no details except mentioning Rachel's counterpart.

"Oh shit, yeah... that will do it.", Megan ended up saying when she had finished.

"Where did I go wrong? Was I not justified in what I said?"

"Max, you know as well as I that Rachel has always had issues with trust, it wasn't all that different for us as friends back in the day either. She sees ulterior motives and deception everywhere, even if she doesn't say so. I think what happened is that she's been trying hard to prove to you that she genuinely cares about you and wishes you to trust her, despite past grievances."

"I do trust her... but there are reasons for my doubts that I cannot really explain without sounding like a crazy person."

"Max, consider this. I know all about the thing that happened between Rachel and her dad. If I was in that situation where someone had been lying to me like that, I wouldn't ever wanna be like them, at least that's how I feel."

"Are you saying that Rachel is incapable of lying?"

"No, but what I am saying is that since Rachel clearly despises her father and his actions, that I would think she would want to be as open and honest with you as she can. If she has a reason for not telling you what she's been doing, then I would simply accept that. I saw you together and she seemed very radiant and happy to me. I cannot imagine why she would hide something bad from you or cheat on you, that doesn't sound like her to me."

"What should I do?"

"Hard to say. Apologizing would be the least, if she lets you but knowing her it can be tough. I'm sorry you are dealing with this by the way."

"Thanks, but it's not your fault. I did this all myself and I need to make it clear to her that I still love her."

"I'm sure she knows that deep down, Max, but it can't hurt at this point."

"Never a dull moment with her."

"No, there is no such as dull when Rachel is involved."

"Thanks for listening to me."

"Thank you for calling, I appreciate you trusting me with this. Let me know if you need anything else, ok?"

"I will, wish us luck."

"Of course."

"Bye, Megan."

"Later, Max."

Having ended the call, Max tried to put into perspective what Megan said. Was she right? Who was to say that Rachel was hiding something negative or malicious from her? She could remember Rachel getting incredibly angry after hearing what her counterpart had done as if she had taken personal offense to it. Maybe Max really was mistaken and this was all over something that nothing to do with what happened in the past? Max had not witnessed Rachel getting mad her like this ever since she had arrived from the other timeline or reality. If seen for just who she is, then Max could not imagine her doing the same things the other Rachel had done. But where was the dividing line between two versions of the same person from two different timelines? Rachel made Max's counterpart sound quite different from who she was, or at least thought herself to be. Her initial wardrobe was nothing less of an affront to her tastes and what could have caused her to become a big deal in the Vortex Club or just being a member in the first place? Being friends with Nathan and Victoria sounded impossible to her and yet, it seemed to have been a fact when she had just arrived. Where did Rachel truly differ from the other? With how little Max learned about the other Rachel, she had only the word of Chloe to rely on plus the revelations Rachel managed to learn from herself. Megan said that Rachel wouldn't want to be like her father and deceive people any longer. Max hoped this was true, perhaps what she really needed to do was to fill Rachel on her deepest fears and concerns. This could be taken as a sign of weakness, but it was the only shot Max had.

* * *

Eventually, Rachel came home, with Max still sitting huddled in the corner and with her back to the wall. As Rachel entered the room, she saw Max sitting down there and Max could tell that for a split-second, she could see an expression of pity on Rachel's face that quickly disappeared again.

Rachel walked up and looked down at her.

"Did you think about what happened earlier?", she asked in a calm voice.

"I have and Rachel, I am incredibly sorry that I have implied that you would do such a thing, that was never my intention."

"Max, tell me why this happened, please."

"Because... because I love you and I wish to know that you are ok. When you are out there and I don't know where it is you go, it scares me. I cannot imagine you doing what I accused you of earlier but rather I'm scared that something else might happen. I know you wish to leave Arcadia Bay behind in the dust and that you've been wanting to leave for years with me being what keeps you here. I feel guilty for hurting you with what I said and I hope deep down that whatever it is you are keeping from me isn't something bad."

"Max, it isn't. You will see soon enough why."

"Still, what I did was not ok. It's just that... I cannot imagine life without you anymore. Back in my old reality, it seemed like fate was out to kill my best friend every chance it got and I was there to stop it every time. It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I'm afraid that at one point you will be in grave danger and I won't be there to help you because I don't know where you are."

"So this was all a misunderstanding? You trust me still?"

"Of course I do, I always did. I would trust you with my life, in fact, I already have."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember that day you tried to burn this place?"

"Vividly."

"Rachel, I knew I was going to get hurt if I stepped in between you and the fire, I accepted that willingly. I also noticed that your powers had gotten stronger over time too and I fully accepted the possibility that I might not get up by myself after the fact. I did it because I knew you would take care of me and you did. I'm sorry if I made it look like that's not the case earlier and I'm sorry that I ever doubted you. Instead, I shall trust you to know what you are doing from now on and that you will tell me when the time is right."

Rachel's expression was one of relief.

"Apology accepted, Max."

Rachel kneeled down her by her side and untied her bracelet again, putting it back on Max's wrist for her.

"It's... it's just that nothing you ever said ever hurt me like that.", Rachel said.

"I know, I could tell. Never since the storm had I felt the wish to be able to rewind as much as this time. I fucked up."

"That wouldn't have worked anyway, you demonstrated that for me and I was "along for the ride" as you put it."

"You are right, I remember."

"How's that?", Rachel asked after she finished putting on the bracelet.

"Much better, thank you."

Rachel got up and then reached out with her hand to Max.

"I can't stay mad you, come on."

She grabbed hold and Rachel pulled her up to her feet by her hands.

Max looked into Rachel's eyes with a mix of guilt and relief and simply threw her arms around her and embraced.

"I will never doubt you again, I promise you.", she said, holding her partner close.

"I'm sorry that I overreacted too. I did not like walking away from you and it didn't make me feel any better."

They remained staring, eyes locked for a good while.

"You are afraid of something, I can tell. What is that truly scares you, Max? Is it what my counterpart said?"

"No, Rachel. I... I'm not sure if I have the strength to tell you this."

"Max, I know I was angry earlier but all is forgiven. I clearly didn't read the situation right. You can tell me anything, you know that never changed."

"Ok."

Max felt nervous about what she was about to say as she mustered all her strength to lay out her feelings.

"Rachel, what scares me more than sharks, Nathan or all the movie monsters in the universe combined is the thought of you simply disappearing from my life from one day to another. Regardless of how it might happen. I'm afraid every night to go to sleep, for I'm anxious that I'm going to wake up where I came from and realize you are gone for good. I have no idea how the hell Chloe was able to cope with that and it makes me hurt all the more for her and I wish I had been more supportive when I still had the chance. I never want to go back though, because I found where I belong and it is with you. I would tear up that photo that brought me here a million times over if it meant I get to stay, even if it would hurt each and every time. What we have experienced together were the best times of my life and sometimes I wonder if this is all a dream that I dread to wake up from. I never knew what love truly was before last year but you showed me, with both its up and downs. I know that what happened today was awful, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter what tries to divide us, that I will be there for you. No tornado, no timeline counterparts and no fight we have will ever change that. Because the truth is simply this... I love you."

When she finished giving her feelings a voice, Rachel stood there petrified, her expression hard to read.

"Max... wow... I don't know what to say. I..."

Max had never seen Rachel so speechless before, a truly rare moment. She saw Rachel pacing until she eventually remained standing still with her back turned towards her.

"Max... what the hell?"

She turned around now.

"What the hell was I thinking when I acted that way this morning? I feel so stupid now, those were some of the sweetest words you ever said to me. I was wrong, I had totally misinterpreted what you said earlier."

"Like I said, I would never imply you'd be doing something, I'm worried about possibilities and seeing you come home late had me concerned."

"Rest assured, I won't be doing that again, not without filling you in first. Fine, I will tell you just enough about what I've been up to without spoiling it. I have been working on something during my spare time and tomorrow it's time to present you the result. It's a surprise for you, but the good kind. I hope it will make up for today."

"That's all it is?"

"Yep, that's all it is."

"So this was... this was all over my birthday?!"

"I'm afraid so, not how I thought it would go that's for sure."

"We both kind of messed up didn't we?"

"We did."

Max checked the time and it was now 4 PM. Rachel had been gone for several hours, whatever it is she was working on must have taken considerable time and effort.

"I'm exhausted from crying so much, especially considering it was over nothing. Would you care to join me for a nap?", Max asked.

"You don't have to ask me twice, but let me hit the shower first, I was sweating bullets all day. Those last summer days are stubbornly hot."

Max waited patiently, but went ahead and laid down. She texted Megan a quick message to let her know that they had worked things out.

 _"Rachel and I made up, turns out it was all a huge misunderstanding over nothing. Thank you again for being there for me. xomaxo"_

Within moments she got a response back.

 _"Glad I could help you. You two are too awesome together for you to fight! ;)"_

If only that was true, but even Max knew that even in the best relationship there will eventually be fighting involved, even if it's over something as silly as a birthday surprise.

Rachel came back, smelling of shampoo as she laid down by her side.

"Max?", Rachel asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I... hold on to you?"

"Please."

Max never said it, but this was when she had always felt at her most comfortable, with Rachel embracing her around her back like an angel, as she had done before. It always made her feel totally safe.

As Max drifted off to sleep, so did Rachel and the two remained to hold on to each other the whole time they remained sleeping.

* * *

Two hours later, they were awakened by Rose calling them to dinner.

After enjoying a family dinner together, which was a home-made Macaroni and Cheese that was to die for, they stayed up late watching TV from their bed. Rachel insisted that they made it at least until midnight.

"Only a moment now.", Rachel said with excitement as midnight approached.

"Shouldn't I be the one to be excited?", Max asked.

"Can't I be happy for you?"

"Of course you can, I'm just saying, I'm not excited at all. I'm just glad we survived this day in one piece."

"You and me both.", Rachel said before getting up and pulling a small present from her desk drawer that had been hidden there.

"Oh, is that for me?", Max said.

"Give it another... 10 seconds or so and you will know."

Rachel was actually staring down the time until midnight on the clock, the very instance in which Max would turn 19. When the moment came, she handed Max her present, a small and flat item wrapped up in gift paper.

"Happy Birthday Max!", Rachel exclaimed.

"Thank you, Rachel. Well, let's see what this was all about."

With anticipation, she tore off the wrapping and ended up holding a small book in her hands.

"So this is "The Call of Cthulhu" or however you say that? This was all over a book?!"

Rachel put on her trademark grin.

"Not quite, this is just the appetizer, the main course comes first thing in the morning."

"In the morning? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wait and find out, you will get your answer."

"Ok then."

Max looked at the book she was given. Its cover featured something resembling the head of an octopus, but much more sinister.

"So this is it huh? This Cthulhu thing you told me about."

"This is the story. It's just one of many, but this is without a doubt the one to know. I figured we start out easy just to test the waters as to whether this is something for you."

"I will give it a read, thanks."

Max set the book aside on the nightstand and laid herself down, covering herself with the blanket.

"Hold it right there, Maxter!", Rachel said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"You didn't think this was all you would get from me did you?"

"But you told me that we weren't gonna get to the other thing until the morning."

"I _did_ say that."

"Then I don't get it."

"Oh, Max, you are so naive and innocent it's almost funny. This next gift isn't something you can wrap up in paper and I most certainly won't let you wait until tomorrow to receive it. You wanted "us-time" this morning, remember? Well, after today, I don't wanna miss out on it either."

Having disposed of most of her clothes, Rachel joined her under the blanket and even Max had realized at this point what this meant.


	35. Revelations

Since they stayed up so late, Rachel had a hard time waking up this morning. It was worth it though and thankfully the day ended on a better note than it had begun. Today on Max's birthday, she hoped they could truly get over the events of the day before.

She could see that Max was already up and had dressed, letting Rachel get the sleep she needed, something she appreciated. She watched Max quietly, who had not noticed her waking up yet. She could see her inspect the book she had gifted her and thought about what Max had admitted to her last night. Rachel still felt like an idiot for misinterpreting what Max really meant. It was never about her being a dishonest wife, but rather Max's fear of the unknown. They both had become so attached to one another, neither could imagine living without the other anymore. Rachel pitied Max's fear of losing her, but how much can you really blame her for that? Rachel had to remind herself that she herself was not how Max was introduced to the person that was Rachel Amber, a missing person from another timeline. If seen in that light, it was easier to understand why Max would feel separation anxiety. She could only hope that this would overtime go away, or at least improve.

Eventually, Max looked at her and only now realized that she had been watched.

"Oh, you are awake.", she said.

"I am.", Rachel responded.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Just a few minutes."

"Why didn't you say anything? I thought you were still asleep."

"Because I like watching you. It's always interesting to see what people are up to when they think they are alone."

"Stalker much?"

"More like... admirer in this case. I saw you eyeing that book, you oughta read that at some point."

"It's much smaller than I imagined.", Max admitted.

"I can see how that's surprising, but you gotta remember that H.P. Lovecraft mostly wrote short stories. A lot of them can be read in one sitting, depending on your reading stamina of course."

"Are you going to show me the big mystery gift?", Max asked.

"And you claim _I'm_ impatient, I haven't even got any clothes on yet."

"Well you better hurry then, I'm dying to know what all this fuss is about."

"Patience is a virtue, my dear."

As Rachel got dressed, she debated what to wear today.

"I'm stumped, I have no clue what I wanna wear.", she said.

"Well, you did say something about wanting to try some of my clothes, didn't you? Sounds only fair considering I take yours all the time."

"Fair enough, let me see what you got."

Rachel went through Max's shirts first.

"Hm... simple but it works, I'll take this.", she said, holding up a white t-shirt with a doe on it as well as a pair of Max's jeans.

"I had a feeling you'd take that one.", Max commented.

"But white shirts need something to go with them for me."

Rachel spotted Max's grey hoodie now, pulled it out and held it up to display it to Max.

"Oh my god, are you going full on cosplayer on me?", Max asked.

"Why not?", she said, putting it all on.

Once it was all assembled, she grabbed Max's shoes as well and put those on too. She stepped in front of a mirror and beheld herself.

"Wowser, I look weird!"

"I see you took more than my style, you stole my catchphrases too... again.", Max remarked.

"Hey! If I'm gonna look the part, I gotta act it too!", she said, trying to imitate Max's voice.

"I honestly don't know if I'm supposed to be flattered or ashamed right now."

"Come on Maxter, let's have some fun here, put on my boots too, you are already wearing my shirts, pants, and bracelet, so might as well finish the job right?"

Next, Rachel tried imitating some of Max's quirks and mannerisms, be it the way she moves or the things he does, practicing all of this in front of the mirror.

"Why are you biting your lip?", Max asked upon observing Rachel doing so.

"Because its something you do.", she replied.

"Wait, I do that?"

"Oh yes, I witness it quite often."

"Never thought I would ever be playing Dress Up again by the way. It's been... wow, like six years?", Max realized.

"Sounds like its about time then! Here you go!", Rachel said, giving Max her own boots.

By the time it was all said and done, they had officially traded virtually their entire outfits and just stared at each other for a moment.

"Wow... this is so weird.", Max observed.

"Max... now that I look at you in the completed outfit, I gotta admit, you look just... _Meow_."

Max blushed in reaction.

"And you look... well like me, I guess. So... odd."

"Well thank you... I guess? I admit I look kinda odd, I've never worn this style before."

"You really think I look attractive in this? Or is that because I look like you usually do?", Max asked somewhat carefully.

"Max, I know I can have an ego the size of the moon, but I mean it, you look great! You should have gotten yourself a pair of boots like that too, they make you look badass."

"I kinda like them, I may not give these up anymore."

"Oh really?"

"Come on, Max-imposter, can we check out the big surprise now?"

Rachel sighed in response to that.

"Fine, fake-Rachel, let's go."

"Go... where exactly?"

"Get in the car and you will see."

Rachel could tell that Max couldn't wait anymore. So they skipped breakfast and headed straight for the main event.

* * *

"The junkyard? What's in here?", Max asked as they arrived.

"Your surprise! It is awaiting you inside, I admit I am looking forward to seeing your reaction."

Walking through the area, she could see Max look around and trying to spot what it is that was waiting for her. Eventually, they came across a large object that Rachel had covered up with what was left of an old camping tent.

"Alright, Maxter, you wanna know what I've been up to for the last several weeks and as to why we ended up fighting yesterday? Well, feast your eyes on this!", she said, now pulling off the covering from her gift.

Upon seeing what it was, she saw Max holding her hands to her mouth in surprise.

"Rachel... oh my god."

"Happy birthday, Max!"

It was a truck.

Max inspected the vehicle closer, it appeared as though she had seen it before though.

"Rachel, do you know what this is?", she asked in astonishment.

"An old truck that I spent weeks refurbishing just for you? Yes, that's what it is.", she replied, smiling.

"No, it's more than that... this... this was Chloe's old truck. Or should I say, it would have been."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, for real, I recognize the license plate too. That is the one, without a doubt."

Rachel was not aware of that fact, how could she have been? If anything, this was a pleasant surprise.

"That... is interesting. I found this thing rusting away in a corner over here. There was so much junk piled on top, you wouldn't believe it. I was told it's been here for many years."

"How did you find this?"

"Remember when I came here to talk to my counterpart after our cruise? Before I headed back home I spotted this thing buried under like two tons of other stuff and once I had freed it, realized that I might just be able to do something with it."

"Rachel... this is the best thing you could have possibly gotten me. I... don't know what to say."

"I had no idea this would mean so much to you. I thought I'd get you this thing so you wouldn't have to ride the school bus every morning. I didn't know about its significance.", Rachel admitted.

"Does it... work?"

"It does. It took a lot of effort and dedication to make it happen though. It's practically yours already, I have taken care of everything, all that's missing is to drive it out of here.", Rachel said, revealing the keys to the truck in her hand.

Max turned to Rachel, with her arms wide open.

"I should have never doubted you.", she said while hugging her partner.

"It's alright Max, I'm over yesterday. I'm just glad that this paid off. Why don't you have a look inside?"

They both went inside the truck cabin.

"It's almost the same.", Max remarked.

"I had to replace the seat covers and patch up a rusty hole in the floor, put in lights and a ton of other stuff and that's just the superficial work. You don't wanna know how long the engine took to fix. For a while, I thought this thing was never gonna move again."

"I can imagine. You did this all by yourself? For me?"

"Yes. I taught myself, seeing how I'm not a trained mechanic. Most of the tip money I made over the last couple of weeks went into this thing and then some."

"Did it cost much?"

"The truck itself didn't, they were glad to get rid of it. Fixing it... well that's another matter entirely. But rest assured I'm glad I made the right decision with this."

Max examined the interior further. Rachel had put a blue light bulb where the cabin light used to be and put up travel-related stickers on the dashboard. Next, Max tried the glove box.

"There's nothing in there.", Rachel said.

To Max's surprise, however, something was inside after all.

"Oh, I forgot to throw that thing out, my bad.", Rachel corrected herself and was about to grab the item.

"Hold up. This is...", Max said with her hand up signaling Rachel to wait.

"What is it? It's just a dusty old beanie."

"That... that isn't just any beanie. This was Chloe's too!"

"For real? Are you sure?"

"I'm certain. It's the same color and it even feels the same. This is where she got it from?!", Max exclaimed.

"Except she never owned _this one_. Who knows whose it once was or where it's been.", Rachel pointed out.

"Still, I'm keeping it, after a wash that is."

"Good call."

"Looks like your gift had yet another gift hidden inside.", Max remarked.

"I'm just full of surprises today it seems. This is like a truck-sized matryoshka doll", Rachel mused.

"A what now?"

"Have you ever seen those wooden Russian dolls that pop open to reveal another, smaller one inside and it keeps on going like that?"

"Oh those, yeah I get it."

"Give it a shot.", Rachel said handing Max the keys.

She put the keys in and upon turning them an old familiar sound started coming from the engine as it roared back to life.

Max was smiling wide.

"So... can I cook or what?", Rachel said.

"You are the best, this is hella awesome!"

"If you want, I can hop into our other car and follow you back home."

"Ok, let's see if I can handle this bad boy."

Max was alone in the mighty vehicle now as Rachel returned to their, by comparison, tiny car. She followed her home as agreed, and it seemed Max had no problem driving this new vehicle of hers.

* * *

At the Amber house, they discussed what they wanted to do for the day.

"Rachel? Would you care to join me on a little joy ride around town and about? I feel like taking this thing for a ride somewhere. We can stop for brunch out there too.", Max suggested.

"A ride with you and a meal? Who am I to say no to that? Sign me up! Besides, it's your birthday, so I don't mind either way.", Rachel replied.

With Max at the wheel, Rachel thought about this new experience. She didn't admit this to Max but at one point during the repairs of the truck, she actually thought about giving up on it, considering the amount of effort and money it took to fix this aging behemoth. However, having witnessed Max's reaction to the reveal and now seeing the beaming expression on her face reassured her that she had made the right call. Perhaps this was worth it in the end after all.

"Hey, Max?"

"Yes?"

"I promise you that I won't be doing this again."

"Aw, but I love your gift."

"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about the way I went about getting you this. I won't hide from you anymore without you knowing where I am and what I'm doing."

"The same goes for me."

"I hope this makes up for at least some of what we went through yesterday."

"I love it, Rachel, really I mean it."

They stopped by a donut shop and with a box of the delectable pastries in hand, they sat relaxing on the truck bed, taking in the breathtaking view of the coastline and the surrounding waters.

"I miss our ship.", Rachel said, eyeing the horizon.

"Yeah, I kinda do too. But I couldn't imagine staying on there forever either. It would get boring eventually."

"I know, but it was amazing, wasn't it?"

"That it was, yes."

Then, Rachel spotted movement up above. A flock of black birds circled nearby.

"There they are again.", she said, observing them.

"Who?", Max asked confusion.

"Look up there.", Rachel said pointing in the direction she was looking.

"You think those are ravens?", Max asked.

"Yes, no doubt, knowing my strange ties to them."

"Do you still get those dreams?"

"I haven't had one in a while now, but yet I still see them. If only I knew what they mean."

"I keep pondering about your powers but no matter how much I think about it, I cannot explain them. I used to think I was given mine to protect Chloe and I did... until I came here. Once that storm was over with, they disappeared and I haven't been able to use them since."

"I wish I'd know what I'm supposed to do with mine. I certainly never asked for them, they just fell into my lap."

"That was the day you discovered your fathers lies right?"

"Yes, I remember that very well as a matter of fact."

"Tell me what happened, if you don't' mind, maybe there is something in your memory that can shed some light on it."

Rachel reached back into her memories, bringing that dreadful day back into focus.

* * *

It was the afternoon about four years ago and Rachel had just come home from school. All day long, other students had congratulated her on her performance in The Tempest. Now, she was looking forward to spending some time chatting with Maxine, like she always would after school.

"I'm home!", she announced upon entering her parent's house.

No one answered to her entrance. Looking around, Rachel found neither her parents nor a note of their absence and her phone hadn't received any messages from them either.

She peered into her dad's office, the door had been left ajar. This was unusual.

"Dad? You in there?", she called inside but again there was no reply.

She pushed the door open and found the office empty. Thinking that maybe something in here could give her a clue she started looking around. At first, she found nothing out of the ordinary and she was about to leave when she decided to inspect the desk.

She noticed a locked drawer. For what reason would her dad have to lock something up in his own office that had a state of the art security system? Having grown suspicious, she looked around for a key, hoping it was nearby. She had eventually found one, hidden in a secret compartment in one of her father's trophies and the key fit exactly, unlocking the drawer for her. She was not ready for what she had found, however.

Letters, a heap of them. Going through she came to a dreadful realization: These were from her mother, but not from Rose. Could this have meant that everything she had believed her life to be was a lie?

What was even worse was their content. Not knowing if and when James might catch her in the act, she quickly skimmed over as many as she could and quickly she came to the realization that her mother had been trying to contact her for a while now, but James had intercepted every single letter, resulting in him being threatened to be pulled into court over this. The final proverbial punch to the gut was the phone she found. Her dad was messaging back and forth with someone, a criminal from the looks of it but that person's name was hidden. It was about money owed and "dealing" with James' problem. Without a doubt, this was about her mom too. With no money in sight anywhere, Rachel had put two and two together: James, her father was doing something horrible to her own mother right at that moment.

Rachel, felt herself shaking and quivering in both sadness and unbridled anger. She had been known to getting rather angry but this felt beyond anything she had ever experienced before. As tears were running down her face, her expression had changed to one of cold-hearted hate, she would not let this bastard get away with this.

She grabbed the letters and stuffed them into her bag hastily, took the phone and smashed it to bits. It felt satisfying, but the fire inside demanded more, way more damage to be done.

She left the room, slamming the door behind her and felt the need to destroy every single thing in the living room right then and there. She threw his trophies as hard as she could, causing cracks in the windows she threw them at.

"What have you done?! How fucking dare you...!"

Her anger built to a fever pitch and she could no longer take it. In anguish, she screamed. It was so loud and almost unnatural sounding, but that mattered little to her. Suddenly, however, the air in the room had picked up wind and before Rachel realized what she had done, furniture and all manner of objects went flying as if lifted and tossed around by invisible hands, from family pictures to chairs, with none of them hitting her, however.

She looked down at herself in disbelief. What the hell was that?

She repeated her screaming, venting all her hatred. The result was the same, there was debris flying everywhere, the dining table, which was mostly made of glass, was lifted off the floor and was flipped over on its side, smashing all the glass in the process.

After the fact, the room looked like a storm went through it just then and whatever caused this power to happen, it had done exactly what she had wished to do with her own hands.

The result left her in shock and even though her anger had momentarily subsided, she now felt overwhelmed with sadness. There was nothing she could do for her mother, it was already too late. She had nowhere to turn... except Maxine. But what could she possibly do? Still, it's all she had left.

She stormed upstairs and started up her laptop, in desperate need of the support of her best friend. She had to know that there was at least one person out there that she could still trust.

Turning on the messenger, she started a conversation.

 _Firewalk (Rachel): Maxine, u there? Please say something!_

 _Noir Angel (Max): I'm here, Rachel. What's going on?_

 _Firewalk: My... dad lied to me..._

 _Noir Angel: About what?_

 _Firewalk: My entire fucking life! All I ever thought I had was a lie! I can't even type it out...  
_

 _Noir Angel: WTF!? o.O_

 _Firewalk: I wish this was a nightmare, but it isn't! He is doing something horrible right now and I can't stop him! WHAT DO I DO MAXINE?!_

 _Noir Angel: Stay calm, please I want to help but I need you to keep control._

 _Firewalk: Control? CONTROL?! I just went Godzilla on our goddamn living room!_

 _Noir Angel: What do you mean?_

 _Firewalk: I don't fucking know, I somehow caused a miniature windstorm or something, all our stuff went flying. I don't know what is happening to me!_

 _Noir Angel: Holy shit... ok, I don't really know how to help with that. I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?_

 _Firewalk: Just tell me that at least you are really who you appear to be._

 _Noir Angel: Of course I am, I'm your friend, Rachel!_

 _Firewalk: I hope you mean that because you are the only one left I can trust right now._

 _Noir Angel: Do you wanna voice chat?_

 _Firewalk: Not right now, I would just be flinging curse words your way and I don't want you to witness me in my current state. But please... don't go away._

 _Noir Angel: Never, I'm here for you. I'm so sorry this happened :((_

 _Firewalk: Shit, the door! I think my dad is home! Talk later, cya._

Taking her eyes off the screen, Rachel could hear commotion downstairs.

"What on earth happened here?!", she could hear James call out.

There was no avoiding it, this confrontation was going to be nasty but there was no way around it. Still tearing up, she went downstairs to face her "father".

"YOU!", she yelled. "This is all your fault!", she yelled as she came down the stairs.

"Rachel, what are you on about?!", he asked.

"I found out what you have been up to behind my back for the last few years. Say, do _these_ look familiar?!", she said angrily, holding up some of the letters she had retrieved from his office.

James' face went pale in realization.

"Oh, you didn't expect me to find these, did you? Well, tough shit motherfucker, I found them! WHERE IS MY MOTHER?"

"Rose is outside..."

"I MEANT THE REAL ONE! SERA GEARHARDT!"

Rose had now entered the house and saw the damage to the living room.

"Oh, there you are you imposter, were you part of this?!", she questioned Rose.

"Rachel... honey, this is complicated.", she responded with a sigh.

"I bet it is, but that doesn't change the fact that this is fucked up beyond belief as well! I ask you again, were you in on this?"

"I was, it was your father's idea to keep you safe."

"Safe? From what? From having a normal family like most people?!"

"No, quite the opposite as a matter of fact.", James said. "To protect you from harm, nothing else. That has always been my top priority and your real mother represented a threat to you."

"A threat?!"

"Yes, for reasons you don't understand yet."

"Nothing you could possibly say would justify what you have done. Have you murdered her too?!"

"No, Rachel I haven't, heaven forbid! I merely... made sure she won't get to you."

Rachel was balling her fists at this point.

"James... go to hell."

She looked him straight in the eye.

"Go to hell and rot there for all of eternity! You are not my father anymore!", she fumed and stormed off to her room, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her. She collapsed into a crying mess by the door, slamming her fist against the closet door next to her. It made her hand hurt, but she didn't care.

This house now seemed more like a prison rather than a home to her. She had to get out and she knew exactly where to go: Her secret hideout.

Turning on the messenger again, she left Maxine one last message:

 _Firewalk: Maxine, I will be gone from here for a while, I don't know how long. Please, do not forget about me. I will message you from my phone. You_ _ **are**_ _my best friend. - RA -_

After that, she shut the laptop, stuffed as many supplies as possible into a duffle bag. James was knocking on her door.

"Rachel, please, let me talk to you!", he begged.

She flung the door open, bag in hand.

Their eyes met and in the heat of the moment, Rachel slapped her father in the face as hard as she could and stormed downstairs, only to grab some food from the kitchen before leaving.

"Rachel, what are you doing?", Rose asked apprehensively.

"I'm leaving.", she responded coldly, not even looking at her.

"When are you coming back?"

"Never if it were up to me."

With that, she was out of the door and ran off to the junkyard. It was a long walk, but she could have cared less at this point. The world could have died in a fire and it wouldn't have mattered one bit to her.

* * *

When Rachel was finished telling her recollection of this event, Max looked like she was about ready to cry.

"My god, Rachel, that was awful.", Max said with sad eyes.

"It was, now you know why my dad and I aren't on good terms anymore, especially after I had found out just who he had hired.", she said.

"Could it be that your intense anger caused your power to trigger?", Max hypothesized.

"Possibly, I have never been that mad before in my whole life, that's for sure."

"I wish I could have been there to comfort you."

"You were, maybe not physically, but in spirit. That's what had me fall in love with you. You were the only one in the entire world who hadn't lied to me, didn't judge me and always had an open ear. You spent countless hours listening to me crying my soul out and it didn't even make you flinch or second guess your choice of supporting me. That's why in that last critical moment I jumped out of the way of that train because you gave me a new purpose. A reason to live. That's when I decided to record a video for you, to show you how I felt about you."

"If I had known this when I met you, it would have made my decision a little easier."

"What decision?"

"To tear up that photo. I knew at that moment that there was more to us than met the eye, but I didn't know what it was. This makes me rest easier on my choice."

"Max... I do have a confession to make and you may not like it."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember when we got that photo album from the Prices? The one with all those childhood pictures of you and Chloe?"

"Yes, you suggested that I could have used one of those to have her back."

"Exactly, I did, however a part of me felt entirely different about that."

"Go on."

"Please understand that I only thought this for a split-second and never wanted to act on it, ok?"

"I know, what mattered to me was what you ended up saying."

"I thought about burning the entire thing, as to make sure that you couldn't possibly ever be tempted to leave me that way."

Max didn't seem to be surprised to hear this.

"Did you think I would do that though?"

"No, because you told me so a second later. I trust your word."

"So, just like me yesterday, you were afraid of a possibility rather than thinking that I would decide to actually do that?"

"Basically, yes. I decided not to act on it and instead believed in what you said. Besides, it's all you got left of your best friend and I would be a monster to take that from you. I know I gave you hell on our first meeting over her... but since then I have come to respect and appreciate what it is you had. You lost her in life, that was horrible enough. Those pictures are yours to keep. Are you... mad that I told you this?"

"Rachel, we cannot always control what our emotions force upon us. I was afraid I could lose you too, so I can relate. At the end of the day, what really matters is how we decide to act. So, no, I'm not mad and appreciate your openness."

"Thanks, Max, it isn't always easy for me to admit my feelings."

"I know."

They enjoyed the view for a while longer, emptying out the box of donuts before heading off again, to destinations unknown. Their trip led them to the countryside.

* * *

"I usually prefer the coast, but it's nice out here too.", Rachel remarked while viewing the fields and trees.

"It makes for a change of scenery."

"By the way, Max, when will you know about the photo contest results?"

"Tomorrow, they will announce it before classes begin in the morning."

"I hope you win, please let me know about it."

"I'm not getting my hopes up, but with you as my entry? Who knows? I will leave you a message for sure."

Suddenly, Rachel spotted something odd across from the road they were driving on.

"Max, who's that?"

Rachel pointed to a building nearby, an old and dilapidated barn from the looks of it.

"I can't tell who that is from here.", Max said.

Squinting, Rachel could see a man in a black suit entering the barn as they passed by. What would someone dressed so well want with a farm building in the middle of nowhere that dated back to the last millennium?


	36. Keeping Record

_September 21st, 2014_

 _Dear Chloe,_

 _It's official, I'm 19, having finally caught up with you. I don't really feel any different though, at least not yet. Is that normal?_

 _You will never believe what I came across today and you would probably call me insane if I did. The first thing that happened this morning was Rachel and I playing Dress Up. It reminded me of how we used to do that as kids, especially that last day when... well, you know._

 _Anyway, she and I traded outfits. Of course, she makes even my style look great on her, but she insists that I wear it well. Trouncing around in her boots felt badass, I gotta admit. Of course, as soon as she saw me she immediately commented on how hot I look in her stuff. I'd ask you if that was true if I could. I want to believe her, but I never thought of myself that way. Kinda hard when everyone else calls you "that dork girl with the freckles". All I know is that she looked at me like a bar of chocolate in a wrapper and she couldn't wait to tear it off._

 _Then finally she revealed the grand surprise... YOUR OLD TRUCK! I'm dead cereal! That old junker had been in the junkyard all along, which makes me think it's where you must have once found it. Rachel had spent weeks fixing it up, when instead she could have just gotten me anything else, perhaps a car that came in good repair? Either way, I freaked out when I saw it. I half expected to see you in there, sitting at the wheel and ask me where the hell I've been the whole time... but you weren't. I put on a brave face and just focused on the positive aspect of this unexpected gift. I had suspected Rachel for no damn good reason and I feel horrible for it, no matter how justified I felt about it at that moment. I'm still trying to make heads or tails of this whole alternate timeline thing, to be honest. Could she have done what the other Rachel did? I hope I will never have to find out. Oh, the truck also had your beanie in it or at least one that looks like it. I can't help but feel like everything that reminds me of you keeps finding its way back to me somehow, but you are still gone._

 _She had told me about her dreams again but unfortunately, I feel no closer to an answer than I was at the start. She told me what happened on the day she first became aware of her power. Maybe her intense anger caused it? Either way, she isn't the kind of girl you wanna piss off, she even slapped her own dad in the face! Unfortunately, I can't exactly blame her for that and I'm just feeling very grateful towards my counterpart for having been there when Rachel needed her. Hearing what impact my other me had on her does make me feel better about myself for some reason. Maybe because I know that even in another universe I still was a half-decent person?_

 _Driving your truck around was fun, I can see why you took a liking to it. We cruised around, free like the wind. Then we checked out this new donut shop that opened nearby, before taking in the countryside for a while. Speaking of which, I saw something weird. There's this big old barn that we drove past and we saw a man in a black suit go inside. I'm not sure what the hell that was about, I mean if he was going to a business meeting, that was a strange place to hold one. Or maybe he's an agricultural historian? Or just a random dude who likes barns? We may never know._

 _Then we came home and of course, Warren, Brooke, and Megan showed up, as per Rachel's instructions for a surprise birthday party. No wonder Rachel went along with my idea so willingly, it gave them plenty of time to prepare a cake and enough candy and cookies to get you sugar-high in no time, and I kinda was, as I laughed at the dumbest jokes like an idiot. I might as well have been drunk, but at least there was no alcohol involved. I'm glad Rachel respects my wishes in that regard. Even though I was slightly upset at first about the whole event happening, I actually enjoyed it in the end. Brooke and Warren couldn't keep their hands off each other, they clearly advanced in their relationship ever since I hooked them up. I'm so happy for them!_

 _Tomorrow I will get to know the results of the Every Heroes contest. I'm not sure if I stand any realistic chance of winning, but I'm content with just having had the courage to participate. No matter who wins tomorrow, there is no way I'm gonna be upset over it._

 _Until I write you again,_

 _Max (the birthday girl)_

* * *

 _09/21/2014_

 _Yay, time for another diary entry! And it's only the second time I do this, so much for making it a daily thing. Oh well._

 _Today was little Maxter's birthday and not a minute too soon honestly. We ended up in a fight two days ago and like an easily triggered dumbass I took offense when Max was only really concerned about me being away while I worked on that old truck for her. I took away my old bracelet from her and let her cry her eyes out for hours before coming home again. I'm not gonna lie, what she said to me hurt, like hella hurt, but you know what? She had a reason to be concerned in hindsight. Lesson learned Rachel: Next time, let your wife know where the hell you are. You can thank me later._

 _Well, the grand reveal was thankfully a critical success. Max loves the truck! Turns out it was Chloe's once, which still blows my mind, to be honest. What were the odds of that? Actually, I don't wanna know, lest I want to melt my brain with probability calculations, I had way too much sugar and junk food today to be able to think about this now._

 _Max asked me if I had planned a surprise party for her and of course, I said no like any good surprise planner would. When Megan and the others showed up she gave me a death glare that could petrify even Medusa. However, in my defense, I never lied to her. I told her that I hadn't planned a party where half the school would come over, I never said anything about just our friends! We all had a good time though, especially Warren and Brooke. Those silly lovebirds, they wouldn't be together if Max hadn't worked her magic on them. I'm proud to see Max reconnect with her old friends though, at least not all of them were left behind when she came here. This way, I don't have to feel like I took everything from her that fateful day._

 _Tomorrow it's back to work for me. I've gotten good at earning tips, I gotta say. That sounds like such a vain thing to say, but you know what? It works. If my charm and exceptional beauty can get us out of here, who am I to argue? Max doesn't mind me doing so still, so tomorrow the hunt for tips begins anew. But with someone as cool as Joyce by my side? Should be a piece of cake._

 _Max promised me to let me know about the contest results as soon as possible. I know she has a chance, even if she doubts herself like she always does. You'd think she having been around me for so long would have helped with that, but she isn't quite there yet. But that's ok, we complement each other and I love her all the same._

 _Alright, time for the birthday girl to pick the movie for tonight, let's see what she's in the mood for. Tomorrow should be an interesting day._

 _\- RA -_


	37. The Price of Destiny

Max drove to Blackwell in her new and yet old truck. The sensation was odd and she couldn't help but feel that it should have been Chloe in her position, not her. The least she could do was to make sure that this metal monster would go on driving for as long as possible, as she was certain that Chloe would want her to do so.

Rachel had wished her luck for the contest this morning over breakfast. Max was never the competitive type that lived only for winning, but she had to admit that the prospect of coming out of this victorious was exciting. But competition was steep, no doubt everyone at school who could did participate and there were some strong talents to contend with.

After parking, she could see Warren standing by a green hatchback. Did he finally get his own car? She approached him to find out.

"Good morning, Warren.", she said.

"Hey, Max, check out my new wheels.", he said, gesturing at this newest acquisition. "It's at least two decades behind the times, but it will do. I'm not too picky given my financial situation."

"It's... neat.", Max stated, looking at the dinged up chassis of the car.

"Ugh... I know, it's got nothing on your badass truck but hey, its got four wheels and it drives. That's all that matters right?"

"I guess, I'm not big on cars. I'm just grateful I got this one."

"Rachel is a great partner fixing that up for you all by herself, you better make sure to show your gratitude towards her."

"I try, she deserves that much."

"So, what do you think who's going to win today?"

"The contest? I have no clue, but I'm not expecting to be it if that's what you are asking."

"Come on, I know for a fact that you take great shots. Rachel showed us that one picture you took of her that one time yesterday remember?"

Warren was referring to the photograph that Max took during that sundown, the day Rachel had first put red dye into her hair.

"I admit I love that one."

"You got talent, Max, don't let haters tell you otherwise."

Suddenly, an announcement could be heard from the speakers.

"Attention all Blackwell students, please gather in the gym for the official announcement of the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest.", Principal Well's voice could be heard saying.

* * *

With everyone gathered at the gym, Max could see Mr. West up on the stage in the back with an envelope in hand. Everyone eagerly stood in anticipation of the announcement.

"Morning, Max.", she could hear Skip say as she passed him as a throng students tried to make its way into the hall.

Max tried to stick with Warren for the moment, trying not to lose him in the chaos. After several minutes it seemed everyone was assembled and Mr. West was given a microphone.

"Check, Check, one two three.", he tested it. "Alright, good morning Blackwell! I know you'd probably rather be in class right now, but we gotta get this announcement done first. There have been many great entries from a large number of students and I think I speak for the entire jury if I say, you all have reasons to be proud of yourself. In this envelope is the answer, so I'm gonna go ahead and open it."

After breaking the seal off the envelope, he pulled out a piece of paper from it.

"Today marks a historic moment for this contest. For the first time ever, the jury was _not_ able to agree on a winner."

The crowd reacted in surprise and people started whispering to each other, confused what this meant. Max didn't know what to think about this yet either.

"Instead... we had two entries of such amazing artistry and beauty that the jury had remained deadlocked without an agreement. What does this mean? That means that instead of just one of you, _two_ winners will be flying to San Francisco with me tomorrow. That's right, we have two winning entries!"

The crowd grew more excited.

"You might wonder how this is possible, and truth be told was entirely up to circumstance. One school was forced to withdraw from the contest, leaving us with an empty slot and the gallery generously offered Blackwell this vacant slot to solve this problem. That being said, I'm going to announce the first winner now."

Max's heart started speeding up and she started feeling anxious.

"The first winner of the Everyday Heroes contest 2014 is..."

Everyone's eyes went wide in anticipation.

"...Ms. Victoria Chase!"

The reaction from the crowd was mostly positive as they clapped in applause as Victoria made her way up to the stage. It seems her reputation in this timeline was better, as Max imagined the other Victoria to be booed off the stage real fast.

"You rule Victoria!", Max could hear a girl in the crowd yelling.

Mr. West handed her the microphone now.

"Thank you all so much! I would like to say how much I appreciate this opportunity and I promise to be the best representative that Blackwell could possibly ask for. I decided to dedicate this victory... to Rachel Amber. I know we had our differences, but that doesn't change the fact that she had always been an inspiration for me. We miss you, Rachel. Best of luck to the second winner!", she said cheerily, addressing everyone.

"Thank you, Ms. Chase, please stand over there, you will be joined by the second winner in just a moment.", Mr. West told her, directing her to stand by the big contest poster that was put up on the stage.

"The second winner is..."

Knowing Max's luck, it was probably going to be Luke or even Nathan.

"... Mrs. Maxine Amber!", Mr. West exclaimed.

Max was dumbfounded as the school went wild and Mr. West motioned her to come up to the stage to say something. She had not anticipated this and most certainly did not prepare for it. She tried to make her way up to the stage, passing by Daniel as she did.

"I knew you would win, great work, Max!", he said as she passed him.

Once on the stage with the microphone in hand, the gym suddenly seemed to be a lot bigger to Max and the crowd even more numerous. With all eyes on her, she wasn't sure how to act. Her instinct told her to try and do what Rachel would in her place, which was easier said than done, considering she felt a lot more comfortable on a stage than Max by comparison. She did her best to block out the fact that hundreds of eyes were watching her every move.

"Thank you. I am incredibly honored and grateful for this. I hope that my work can inspire as many as possible, for if even only one person approves of it, that alone would make me proud of what I do. I also will do my best to showcase Blackwell's values and discipline. As for my dedication, I dedicate this win to Kate Morrison, who I dearly miss around here. I wish she'd understand just how much. Once again, I'd like to thank Mr. West as well the rest of Blackwell for this honor.", she said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Amber, please take your spot over by Ms. Chase.", Mr. West directed her, taking back the microphone.

"Classes will begin shortly, please make your way to your classrooms now, that is everyone _except_ for the winners!", Mr. West announced.

It was only now that Max had calmed somewhat that she realized something.

She would have to sit on a plane for hours next to Victoria. She was less than thrilled about this prospect.

"Max, congratulations, you must be so proud!", she said in her typically over the top cheery way.

"Thanks, Victoria, same to you."

Mr. West walked over to them now.

"We will be taking pictures of you with your winning entries now. I want you to know that we are writing history here.", he said.

"I'm still kinda blown away, to be honest.", Max admitted.

"Oh, in that case, you better hold on to something when I'm about to tell you this."

"What is it?", Victoria asked.

"The Prescott Foundation has offered the winner of the contest an additional prize."

"An additional prize?", Max asked in confusion.

"Yes, and it's a big one. A fully sponsored scholarship for photography at the University of Oregon!"

Max felt overwhelmed upon hearing this.

"This is a big deal ladies, that is the best institution for photography in the entire state of Oregon. If you wish to pursue this seriously, this is hands down one of the best opportunities one could ask for, I should know, I used to go there myself a long time ago. And I know for a fact that you have the skills and talent they are looking for. What do you think?"

"That sounds... amazing!", Victoria cheered, clapping her hands in excitement.

Max, on the other hand, felt beside herself. That university was half-way across the state. She could no longer live in Arcadia Bay once she graduated. It's also not LA, which is where Rachel wanted to go.

"I... I'm kinda overwhelmed right now. I don't mean that in a bad way.", she said.

"That's understandable, give it some time to think over, the prize will be handed to you upon your return from San Francisco. You know my recommendation on what to do. Now, let's head out to get your pictures taken."

Following their teacher through the halls the whole thing took a while to sink in. Max had not only won the contest but also a fully sponsored scholarship? This should have been the best moment of her educational history and yet, she felt anxious instead.

At the classroom, she was instructed to hold up an enlarged version of her picture for a photo shoot to display it for the cameras. For the first time in her life, Max felt almost like a celebrity and she hadn't even flown to San Francisco yet.

For the entirety of the day, this had occupied her mind and it proved distracting during class. Her brain already dreaded sitting next to Victoria for several hours. Although, she had to remind herself that her dislike towards Victoria was grounded in her experience with the one from her original timeline. This Victoria had always treated her respectfully, even after she had cut ties with the Vortex Club, which greatly surprised her, but being friends seemed impossible still. The memory of Kate simply hurt too much still and Victoria was one of the major offenders when it came to who put Kate on that roof that day. It was hard to forgive that and impossible to forget. But was there a point in holding a grudge when it seemed unwarranted?

She did text Rachel at some point that she had won, but hadn't gotten a response yet. Odds were she had her hands full at work though. She did not mention the scholarship yet, however. That was something she wanted to discuss in person with her.

* * *

While on break, Brooke suddenly joined her, as Max was sitting on a bench trying to get her thoughts in order.

"Hey, Max.", she greeted.

"This is surprising, hey Brooke.", Max responded.

"Not as surprising as you winning that contest. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I never properly thanked you for sending Warren my way. So thanks, Max. I feel like we are hitting it off pretty well."

"I'm happy for you, I had a feeling you would."

"How did you know? It almost seemed like you knew that he and I would work out."

"It's a long story and you wouldn't believe me."

"Really? Try me."

What was Max supposed to do? She barely knew Brooke but at the same time, her showing an interest meant that they could become friends, unless of course already considered her one, she was nice enough to show up for her birthday party after all. She thought about it. The worst that could happen is that Brooke would think of her as a weirdo, which she kind of always did, so not much would change. Besides, Max started feeling tired of carrying around her secret around after all this time and always having to lie about it. Maybe it was time to open up about it, no matter how crazy it would sound?

In resignation, she told Brooke everything about the time traveling she had done, about the alternate timeline thing and that Rachel's fate was far less kind to her originally.

In the end, Brooke was left blinking her eyes in disbelief.

"Uh, ok, Max... you really mean what you said? You aren't high on something right?"

"I'm not, I detest drugs."

"You don't seem to be the type anyway. Wow... ok."

Awkward silence commenced for a moment until Max broke the ice.

"How else do you think I knew about you two? You used to be jealous as hell at me for just talking to Warren."

"How many people have you told this?"

"Just you, Rachel and... Chloe."

"Are you talking about Chloe Price? She used to go here a long time ago but not for very long. I remember her though."

"You do?"

"Yeah, she disappeared out of the sudden, haven't seen her since."

"Brooke, Chloe is... dead."

Brooke was taken aback and seemed to have quickly realized that Max did more than just know Chloe.

"I'm sorry to hear that, she had a talent for the sciences, I could appreciate that. Did she mean much to you?"

"More than you can imagine. Remember that close friend of mine that I tried to help by changing history? The one I ended up putting into a wheelchair in this timeline?"

"Yes."

"That was her, or rather, another version of her."

"My god..."

"It's alright Brooke, but I warned you on my birthday that hanging around me has consequences."

"No kidding. I feel sorry for bringing this up."

"You couldn't have known, it's ok."

"Do you want me to tell Warren about your story?"

"I will tell him myself, I meant to for a while anyway."

"Hey, gives us science experts something to discuss. If what you say is true, then you just blew my worldview to pieces."

"Welcome to my life, Brooke."

"Glad to be a part of it, Max. I gotta run and catch Warren. See you around."

"Later, Brooke."

Did Brooke really believe what Max just told her? She hoped so.

* * *

Eventually, after several agonizing hours of classes, she was finally allowed to go home. She wanted nothing more than to finally tell Rachel the news. Once she had told the Amber's about her prize, they were very happy for her.

"That is outstanding, Max. Are going to take this opportunity?", James asked her.

"I don't know yet, but I would love to. I need to talk this over with Rachel first before I can make any calls, I do not wish to exclude her on this.", Max said.

"I'm sure she will agree with your plans once she realized the wisdom behind the correct choice."

"One way to find out."

Upstairs, now by herself, Max anxiously awaited Rachel's return home. She wrote in her diary as usual to pass the time. Being alone felt so strange out of the sudden, after all those cameras and faces of envy that she saw. Her phone inbox exploded with messages, so much so, that she was forced to mute it for the moment. As she kept writing, her vision went blurry and it became harder to focus and eventually, out of exhaustion, she fell asleep.

* * *

It wasn't until later that she woke up again.

"Hey, Maxter, wake up!", she could hear a voice say.

Max could feel a hand gently pushing her back, trying to get her attention. She came to and turned her head to behold Rachel, who had come home from work.

"Hey Rachel, did you get my text?", she asked, still somewhat dazed.

"I sure did, I did respond but I see you fell asleep.", Rachel said.

"My bad."

"So, since you were victorious today, why don't you go ahead and claim your prize?"

"What is the "prize"?"

"One free kiss.", Rachel said playfully.

"Just the one?"

"Well, with the right argument you might be able to convince me to grant you mo..."

Rachel's speech got interrupted when Max went for it and kissed her partner.

"How's that?", Max asked after the fact.

"You make an... _interesting_ argument. I will keep that in mind.", Rachel said as she now kissed Max in return.

As much as Max was enjoying the intimacy, there was something that needed to be addressed.

"Rachel, I got more news and it's a big deal."

"That's funny, so have I.", she responded.

"Ok, you first.", Max said.

"Joyce is pregnant."

Max shot up in bed in surprise.

"Joyce is WHAT?!"

"She is pregnant. She told me this morning, more to it, you are the only one allowed to know for the moment. So don't spread this around, I'd like to keep my good reputation at work. I vouched for your reliability."

Max's mind was racing, trying to fully understand the implications here. From what she could remember of William and Joyce, they had never planned on having more children after they have had Chloe. However, Chloe died almost a year ago, leaving them with no offspring.

"Oh my god, Rachel..."

"You look like you saw a ghost, Max. You alright?"

"Rachel... that child... wow..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Max, people have kids you know?"

"That's not it, you don't understand! That child, whoever it's going to be... they wouldn't have existed if I hadn't changed history... he or she will only be allowed to live because of my actions."

Rachel seemed to think for a moment and she too had then done the math. William couldn't have had another child in Max's old universe, seeing how he died long ago. And Max was fairly certain that Joyce didn't seem to plan to have any children with David Madsen either.

"Holy shit, Max. That kid really is your doing in a way.", she said, still feeling dumbfounded.

"This should have been Chloe's little brother... or sister, depending. Did they say what it is?", Max asked.

"No, they don't know yet, they will soon from what I heard."

"This is giving me chills, Rachel, like seriously. I mean, I knew things would be different, but it never really occurred to me that entirely new lives would be the result of what I've done.""

"That kid owes you his or her life, they can get in line with me now. Think they will be a rebel like Chloe?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, but its weird that I'm gonna be so much older than them."

"Doesn't mean you can't be friends one day, right?"

"That's true."

Then Max remembered what she's been meaning to say all day.

"Rachel, I have something to say too."

"I'm all ears, but I doubt you can top my story."

"You tell me. I was awarded more than just the title of a winner today. In addition to going to San Francisco tomorrow, I also received a prize."

"I know, I gave you a kiss."

"Not that one you silly goose."

"I know, I'm just playing."

"For reals, I was awarded a fully sponsored scholarship for a university in Eugene, Oregon. If I take it, I get to study photography at the best institution in the state. I could become a bonafide photographer, Rachel. All I need to say is yes. I still have time to decide, however."

She studied Rachel's face, gauging her reaction, but it remained unreadable for the moment. Rachel paced around, clearly trying to process the news.

"You are saying you haven't accepted it yet?", she ended up asking.

"I haven't, I wanted to include you first, it was the right thing to do.", Max said.

"Thank you for being considerate of me, Max, but there is only one answer."

Knowing how badly Rachel wanted to go to LA, Max honestly didn't know what to expect now.

"Max..."

Rachel turned around and faced her partner.

"...take it."

"Are you sure?"

"Max, no offense, but saying no to that would literally the stupidest thing you could do. Why wouldn't you?"

"Because it's not what you wanted. You told me LA is where you wish to go."

"Max, I want out of here, that I will attest. But where we go doesn't matter to me as much as you think. LA was a plan, yes and I would love to go there, seeing how California is my home state. But you know what? This? This is too great to pass up. Eugene isn't as far, we can get there easily and find a place to stay. Maybe even with my mom."

"So you are ok with it?"

"Of course I am. I don't want to be in the way of your success. If becoming a photographer is what you want... then I'm not going to stop you. I love you, Max. I love you very much. I would be very, very happy if you get to do this, really, I mean it. I'd be so proud of you."

"And what about you?"

"Max, I'll be fine. I will find something to do. If it means having to give up on my stage dreams... then so be it."

Max had never, ever imagined hearing Rachel say those words. She was willing to let go of her dreams in favor of Max fulfilling her own. For Rachel, this seemed downright altruistic.

"Rachel, I don't think I know the words to properly thank you for saying that."

"Max, you and I don't need words anymore."

Rachel embraced Max warm and gently and Max reciprocated accordingly.

"I was apprehensive about telling you this, I wasn't sure what to expect.", Max admitted, resting her head on Rachel's shoulder.

"Max, your happiness matters more to me than the world. As long as you think you make the right decision in the end, I will back you up no matter what. Scholarship or no scholarship, you have my support."

"What have I done to deserve you?", Max said near tears now.

"You moved through time and space, altered the course of this river we call history, accepted me for who I am, despite me chewing you out more than once for no damn good reason, put up with all my bullshit drama and still somehow managed to remain the greatest person I have ever known? If anything, _I_ should ask myself that question, as I have before, if you remember."

"I know you have."

"You never give yourself the credit you deserve, Max, why is that?"

"I don't know, confidence has never been my strong suit, no matter how much I wish it was different."

"Those times you are confident I really like though, you showed me a lot of that on our cruise.", Rachel stated.

"I didn't have so much to worry about that time I guess."

"I hope I get to see that side yours again. You are stronger than you know, Max. You will see."

Max felt good about hearing this.

"Now, if you excuse me, the shower is calling my name and I intend to heed it."

Rachel grabbed her towel and new clothes and was about to walk out.

"Rachel?"

"Yes, Max?"

"Would you mind... if I join you?"

Rachel's face was marked with a big smile now.

"I thought you'd never ask, by all means. But beware, Max, it can get pretty _rough_ in there."

"Challenge accepted."


	38. Mysteries

Rachel's alarm woke her up on time as usual and Max got up with her, as they had agreed to the night before. Today was Max's big day, as she would be flying to San Francisco alongside her teacher and Victoria.

"What would you like for breakfast dear?", she asked Max they went downstairs to eat.

"I was gonna make myself a sandwich, why?", Max asked somewhat sleep drunk. She must not have slept well. Rachel didn't entirely blame her, considering what she was about to get into.

"I can make you one, I know what you like.", she offered her.

"Oh? How come?"

"Well, Max, because today is exciting enough and I thought I'd do you a favor while I still can."

"I'm not gonna argue, thanks."

"Always. Just sit down and let me worry about the rest. Chocolate milk? And if so, warm or cold?"

"Cold, something to wake me up.", Max responded.

Rachel fixed them both something to eat, a bologna and cheese sandwich for Max and cereal for herself.

"Here you go.", she said as she passed Max her plate.

"I have like zero appetite, but I will do my best.", Max admitted.

"That's just the jitters. Once its over, you will be glad you went. Did you... uh... decide on what you wanna do? Are you willing to go through with the scholarship offer?", Rachel asked.

"I think I will, it seems like the right thing to do and since I have your blessing I feel a lot better about it."

"The sky is the limit, Max, but I will be with you all the way to the top. Sorry if that sounded corny, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase myself there."

"I appreciate you nonetheless, I feel like together we can take on anything."

"That's the idea."

After filling up on breakfast, it was time for Rachel to go. Max would be leaving soon herself, taking the school bus to Blackwell and from there she would accompany Mr. West and Victoria to Portland and its airport. She couldn't take her truck today, as she didn't want to leave it parked at Blackwell this whole time and instead entrusted Rachel with it.

"Here's the truck keys, take good care of it."

"Of course I will, although I might take it for a ride."

"I don't mind that."

Having put the keys into her pocket for the moment, Rachel looked Max into the eyes one more time before leaving.

"I never get tired of looking into your eyes.", Max said softly.

"I could say the same about yours, with that lovely shade of blue in them. Are you feeling like an everyday hero yet?", she responded, stroking Max's cheeks gently.

"Not really."

"Well, you are mine."

Rachel initiated one more kiss before they would go their separate ways.

"I will see you tomorrow evening, say hello to California from me.", Rachel said as she opened the door to her car.

"You bet. I love you, Rachel, please take care."

"I love you too, Max."

Driving away from Max standing there by the door wasn't exactly what Rachel would call one of her fondest memories she had of her wife, but she took comfort in the thought that Max was getting her name out there soon. A part of Rachel envied her partner for her success, but Rachel knew better than to get jealous and instead looked forward to hearing what stories she would have to tell her upon returning.

* * *

Having arrived at work, Rachel got herself ready for her shift. Joyce was already there and was getting the countertops ready for service. She was early and there was still time before opening.

"Good morning, Rachel!", she said when Rachel had gone inside. "Did you tell Max the news?"

"I did, she was caught completely off-guard, you should have seen her face!"

"I can imagine."

"Pretty sure she looks forward to seeing the little guy or girl when the time comes."

"That will be a while yet. Any day now I expect to get a call from the hospital though. I told them that we wish to know what the baby is. I didn't mind the mystery with Chloe but being short on money, I can't afford to buy anything unnecessary, you know what I mean?", Joyce said.

"I get it, you don't wanna buy all girls stuff only to end up with a boy at the end, is that it?"

"You are quite perceptive, that's what I meant. By the way, did you read the news this morning?"

"Nah, I haven't. Did the world blow up and we just haven't noticed yet?"

"Ha. No, but another dead person turned up in the woods."

"Again?"

"Yep, again. Makes you wonder what is going on in this town. I'm convinced it's cursed at this point."

"Max and I might be out of here sometime next year."

"Really?"

Rachel told Joyce all about the scholarship offer that Max had received the day before.

"Oh my goodness, that is great! That could really be a great career for her. Has she agreed to it yet?", Joyce asked after Rachel had finished.

"Not yet, but she says she wants to once the offer is officially made. I'm proud of her either way though."

"You and me both, I remember the days when she was just a little girl, playing around and enjoying herself with Chloe and their pirate shenanigans. I miss those days..."

"I wish I could have seen that."

"You would have fit right in with them I'm sure."

"But, you never know, those days might just come back."

"Oh, you think our little one will have a playmate like Max?"

"Something tells me so, history has a thing for repeating itself."

"I hope you are right darling."

Joyce checked the time.

"Alright, time to open the doors!"

It was time for Rachel to impress again, not just Joyce, but also her numerous customers. Scoring some nice tips, her day went mostly smoothly. That is until Nathan arrived a few hours in.

"I don't wanna be a problem, but you better take this one.", she said to Joyce pointing out Nathan. She had previously told her about the encounter she had with him when Max had intervened.

"It's ok honey, you can tend to the next table.", she responded.

Despite the fact that Joyce covered for her, she could tell that Nathan was watching her and she could overhear every word they spoke. The place wasn't as full as it usually was, which kept the ambient noise levels low enough for her to hear it all.

"Why isn't _she_ serving me?", she could hear Nathan say.

"You know damn well why. Now, what's it gonna be for ya?", Joyce said, trying to get his attention.

"That is so stupid, I _demand_ her to serve me."

"Your demands extend as far as the menu goes, so let me ask you one more time. What are you having?"

"Do you even know who you are talking to? I could step on you insignificant insects just like _that_.", he boasted, slamming his foot on the floor.

"I know exactly who I am talking to and I suggest you get out of here before I have you removed by the police!"

"I'd love to see you try."

"Very well, in that case, I suggest you sit back and watch."

A coworker of them saw Joyce giving him a sign to call the police, as he had seen everything as well. Picking up the phone, he contacted the authorities.

"You are going to regret this! You fuck with my family, you are gonna get it! Just watch!"

Joyce ignored his threats and walked away. His ranting continued for another minute by which time a policeman came in the door to take him in.

"Fucking insects!", Nathan sneered as the cop pulled him outside and into a police car.

The whole place remained silent for a moment. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from a great many customers who were glad to be rid of Nathan as well. No one wanted to have anything to do with the Prescotts. After a conversation with the police as to what happened and having filed a report, they could finally continue service, without further interruptions.

At the end of the shift, before leaving, Rachel spoke with Joyce one more time.

"Thank you for earlier, you didn't have to do that.", she said.

"Honey, it's fine. That jerk doesn't deserve your attention quite frankly. If you hadn't pointed him out to me, I would have stepped in and taken over for you. It's not like he would have tipped you anyway."

"I appreciate that."

"Have a safe trip home."

"Thanks, you too."

"See you tomorrow morning!"

"Later."

* * *

On her way to the car, she thought about how great she and Joyce got along. No doubt her counterpart had gotten along well with her too. It made her feel regretful for not having made an effort to get to know Chloe better while she still could have done so. She was about to turn on the car's engine when she received a phone call.

"Hello?", she answered.

"Hey, Rachel, it's Megan."

Megan clearly sounded concerned about something, that much Rachel could tell right away.

"What's up?", she asked.

"Have you seen Sera lately?"

"No I haven't, why are you asking?"

"She hadn't come back home last night and I'm getting kinda worried. No one else I asked had seen her either."

"Shit... ok. Do you know where she went?"

"She was attending a union meeting last night. I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be an overnight thing though. What do I do?"

Rachel became anxious herself, which didn't help.

"Listen, Megan, just relax, I'm sure she will come home soon. But... if she doesn't come back by tomorrow morning, can you let me know?"

"Of course. I will stay in touch."

"Ok, let's hope this is nothing bad. I will see if I can find out something on my end. Talk to you later."

"Later, Rachel."

On the way home Rachel tried to keep her emotions in check. Whenever her mother was concerned it has always spurred strong reactions from her and rarely good ones. She had no idea where her mother could have been, so instead, she decided to ask the one person that was most likely to know if something happened to her.

* * *

Back at the house, he walked in to see Rose preparing dinner as usual around this time.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hi, Rachel, how was your day?", Rose asked her.

Rachel sincerely hoped at that moment that Max's day was better than her own.

"It was... ok I guess. Is James around?"

"He's in his office. Is there something you need?"

"I need to speak with him."

"Ok, I'm glad to hear that."

"Don't sell the pig before you've slaughtered it. I have important business to discuss."

She went ahead, knocked on the office door and waited for a response. She could have simply walked in since she knew the code to the door but that was something she'd prefer to keep secret, just in case.

After a moment, the door opened.

"Rachel? I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I guess today is full of surprises. Can I come in?"

"Yes, yes of course."

Her father clearly hadn't expected her to suddenly come talk to him, after pretty much ignoring his existence for the last several months. She sat down in a chair across from his desk, where he took his seat.

"You look like you have something to ask me.", he remarked.

Forcing herself to look at him in order to set a neutral tone for this conversation, she made her best effort to remain diplomatic. If James knew something, she needed him to be in a good mood.

"Something happened.", she said.

She expected him to react, but he didn't. His expression remained unchanged so far.

"What happened?", he asked back.

"Sera has disappeared last night and no one knows where she is. I... I was hoping you might know what's going on.", she said.

A part of her wanted to yell at him and demand to know where she was, but it wasn't guaranteed that James was behind this. Using Max's advice, Rachel managed to remain calm. Calm as can be given the circumstances.

James leaned back in his chair and folded his hands into a thinking posture.

"I do not know where she is, Rachel. This is the first time I hear about this. You do realize that given her background, a great many things could have happened to her, right?"

"Don't patronize me. She has improved so much, you couldn't even tell that she had been an addict once. If you had bothered to see her, you'd know that too."

"I didn't mean to sound patronizing. It's just that I know her in a way that you don't. Where was she last?"

"A union meeting, that's what her roommate Megan told me if you remember her."

"I do, I haven't seen or heard from her in a while."

"They live together, sharing an apartment. Sera went to this meeting last night and never returned."

"Do you know where she works?"

"No, it hadn't come up yet. I visited her only once since Max and I came back from our honeymoon. A choice I'm seriously starting to regret at this point."

"Do you trust Megan?"

What kind of question was that? Was he seriously implying Megan might have a hand in her mother's disappearance?

"I do, I have known her long enough."

"The same applies to me, yet I managed to fool you for 15 years. However, I do not take pride in that fact, no matter what you might think."

Unfortunately, he had a point there.

"I know you don't particularly trust me these days, Rachel. But believe me when I say that I have nothing to do with this. I have accepted that you want Sera in your life, despite my warnings."

"It was never your right to decide for me."

"It was at the time, but I will concede that this is indeed no longer the case. I will see what I can do, but currently, we have our hands full with this ongoing mystery with these starvation victims. Another one was found yesterday and just like before, there was no indication of foul play, which I find more and more unlikely to be the case at this point. Someone must be doing something to someone for this to happen this frequently."

"Do you think that this has anything to do with Sera?"

"I can't say, not without an investigation. I do not wish for any further harm to come to her though."

Rachel couldn't but feel that these incidents might be connected.

"There has to be something about all these missing person cases that we are not seeing."

"I agree with you. Here, I made a map of all the places we had found the victims to see if there was a pattern. But these places are in rural areas where these sort of accidents happened before."

Rachel looked at the map. It was one of Arcadia Bay and its surrounding communities and land. Nine red "X's" were marked on it, each one representing a victim of starvation in the last few months. At first, she also did not notice anything unusual, but upon closer inspection, she noticed something.

"What is this thing?", she asked, pointing out a spot on the map.

"That's an abandoned barn. It's been there for over a century and as far as I know, no one is using it anymore.", James said.

"I will have to disagree with that.", Rachel responded.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the location of this thing. If you look close enough, you will see that all the X's are more or less dotted around it."

James had a closer look for himself now as well.

"We've been over that building, there's nothing there."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure.", he reaffirmed himself.

"You said that _no one_ uses it right?"

"That is correct."

Rachel felt her pulse quicken for a moment. Whatever she was going to say, she had to really be careful about it. If she was wrong, then she was looking into the eyes of a possible killer, if she was right, then she knew for sure that James was innocent. It would all depend on his reaction to her next sentence.

"On Max's birthday, we drove past the barn and we saw a well-dressed man in a suit walk inside.", she stated, watching James closely like a dangerous animal that could pounce her any second.

"You said you saw someone enter?", he ended up asking calmly but with concern.

"Yes, some guy in a fancy suit. He was too far away for us to tell who it was and we weren't about to stop and question a stranger in the middle of nowhere. I've seen too many horror movies for that."

James looked at the spot on the map again.

"That is strange. But based on this I cannot tell the police to go looking. You saw someone but they weren't doing anything illegal. Also, the police were already there and had found nothing."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I know a private investigator who I can send in and have another look, maybe he can find something the police missed. He's fairly reliable and has been a great asset to local law enforcement in the past."

"Must be a hell of a guy for you to speak so highly of him."

"In fact, you know him, his name is David Madsen. He was there when that dreadful robbery happened at the bank last year."

Rachel remembered him, but she mostly knew him based on what Max had told her about David. He was Joyce Price's husband in the other timeline.

"If he hadn't been there...", she said to herself.

"I owed him big time for saving your life, so I agreed to hire him from time to time, whenever his services were required."

"I thought he was just a bus driver?"

"And that is how he'd like people to know him, but he wanted to do more with his life, so he does this job on the side. I will send him to this barn and have a look. If Sera has anything to do with this, we might get our answers there."

"When do you want to do that?"

"Soon, I will let you know."

Awkward silenced commenced for a moment.

"Rachel...", James said, clearly with something on his mind. "I know it hasn't been easy for you and Max to be here. I wish things had turned out differently and I admit that I have made mistakes in the past. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I appreciate that you came to me, even if it was only by process of elimination."

It was indeed impossible for her to forgive him yet, but the fact that he offered her the assistance she needed while also putting her concerns about him to rest did not go unnoticed. He was not the one she saw at the barn that day, that she was convinced of. Also, it seemed unlikely that he would do what her dream vision had implied. Imagining him shooting Sera seemed a bit farfetched at this point.

"I'm... I'm glad we talked.", she said, finally looking her father in the eye for the first time in a long while.

"So am I. You know where to find me if you need me.", he replied.

"I do, thanks."

She got up and started to walk out of the office.

"Say hello to Max from me if you contact her and tell her that we hope that she has a good time."

"I will."

* * *

With that, she headed upstairs, now being alone for the first time all day. She dressed in her regular clothes again and beheld herself in the mirror like she always loved to do. But something was missing.

Max was not there with her.

She got her phone out and texted her, although she didn't expect a response any time soon. No doubt Max was being praised to high heavens by the art world right now, so she put the phone aside and wrote a diary entry while waiting on Max's reply or a call to dinner, whichever would come first.

* * *

About 800 miles south from Arcadia Bay, Max had just been through an onslaught of interviews and questions from visitors of the gallery. Donning her yellow blazer, she managed to fit in visually, just fine, but felt out of place regardless. However, her picture garnered the attention of a great many onlookers and press people. By the time the event was over for the day, she had been given over a dozen contact information cards and suffered a headache from the stress. She was about to retreat to her hotel room for the evening, when Mr. West addressed both her and Victoria, who had adjacent rooms to her, stopping them in the hotel lobby.

"Ladies, there is something we need to discuss if you have a minute?"

"What's wrong, Mr. West?", Victoria asked.

"I will tell you when we get upstairs, follow me."

Max wasn't sure what this was about, but her teacher seemed somewhat grave and embarrassed about something.

Together, they all entered his hotel room.

"Have a seat, anything to drink?"

"I'll take a water if you don't mind, my throat is still scratchy from talking all day.", Max said.

"Same here.", Victoria agreed.

With a glass of water in hand each, they now sat at a table and Mr. West's expression turned serious.

"First of all, I'm so proud of how you to held your own and conducted yourself today. The jury was right not to exclude either of you and you should be proud of what you have achieved."

Max did not like where this was going. For so much praise, it sounded too serious and it was clearly meant to soften the impact of what the real issue was.

"But, unfortunately, we have been blindsided."

"Blindsided?", Victoria asked in confusion. "In what way, Mr. West?"

He sighed audibly, clearly not wanting to share this next bit of information.

"The Prescott foundation has rescinded their offer of a scholarship for both winners of the contest.", he said plainly.

"Are you serious?", Max said in reaction.

"What? That can't be right!", Victoria fumed.

"I'm afraid it is the truth. Even though Caroline Prescott herself had given me assurances beforehand. It would seem that she was either overruled or never intended to keep her word."

"So... what now?", Max asked.

"Now, we are stuck with two legitimate winners but only one prize. We have one scholarship and that is unfortunately it."

Victoria slammed her fist down on her knee in reaction.

"That is unacceptable! We earned this!"

"You are completely right, Ms. Chase. But the Prescotts have more power than I do in this matter. I tried to reason with them, I even called them earlier while you two were busy giving interviews to try to come to an agreement but they weren't listening."

Both Max and Victoria looked down at the floor, with Victoria on the verge of crying.

"I am so sorry, that this happened. It is not how I wanted this to go. Only one of you can receive it now and while I hate to do this to you, I must leave the choice up to you. I do not wish to pick between you and have one of you hate me for the rest of their lives. It wouldn't be fair either."

"How much time do we have to decide?", Max asked.

"I will give you a week, by then I need to know so I can hand over the prize in person."

She hated the very thought of this. Going into this trip, she fully anticipated hating Victoria's guts the whole time. Much to her surprise, however, once they were actually forced to spend time with one another, they got along very well, even if she was very talkative. This Victoria was very different from what Max expected indeed. And now, one of them would have to surrender their prize because the Prescotts were being stingy with their precious money.

"I wish I had better news for you, but I'm afraid the situation is what it is. I meant to wish you both a good night, but that sounds like a very wrong thing to say at this point. Instead, I hope to see you again in the morning. There will be a few more hours of interviews until we fly back to Oregon in the afternoon. Once again, I'm sorry it's come to this."

In silence, they left his hotel room, with both Max and Victoria finding themselves alone in the hallway now.

"This is such bullshit, I cannot believe the Prescotts would do this to us! Why was I ever friends with Nathan again?!", Victoria spewed angrily.

"You see now why I gave up on the Vortex Club?", Max asked, almost expecting Victoria to lash out in response.

"I'm starting to, they had money for all our parties but not for something like this? Something that actually mattered?! Something that could change our lives? What do we do?"

"I don't wanna decide this right now, to be honest.", Max stated.

She could feel her stomach rumbling. While the buffet at the event had been plentiful, she didn't get as much time to eat as she would have liked and therefore had barely eaten anything all day.

"Would you care to join me for dinner somewhere?", she asked Victoria, who was surprised by the sudden offer.

"I didn't expect that from you, especially not after that curve ball just now. But sure, let's go, bound to be something nice around here at least.", she responded, and they headed down the elevator and outside of the hotel.

* * *

Together, they browsed the nearby street and found a simple fast food joint. Max wasn't picky and neither was Victoria, they just wanted to eat. Max decided to vent her frustration on a burger, while Victoria preferred chicken strips, both with a helping of french fries and soda.

"Are you sure Rachel won't mind us hanging out like this?", Victoria asked after they had finished gorging themselves.

"No, she wants me to make friends and socialize.", Max replied.

"She must trust you a great deal, I wish she had shown me that sort of trust and not treat me like a threat all the time.", Victoria remarked, taking another sip from her soda cup.

"Rachel is... hard to impress, I admit. But once you do and earn her trust, she is the most incredible person you will ever know."

"Hearing you say that like that makes me believe that. I've been meaning to ask you but avoided the question for a while. Why did you stop hanging with the Vortex anyway?"

"Because... the Vortex just wasn't what I thought it was. I thought it would be a group for students to hang out and help each other, but quite frankly, it looks more like Nathan and Courtney's personal fan club at this point."

"You aren't entirely wrong about that. I used to love hanging there myself, organizing parties and stuff. But ever since that incident with Kate where Nathan got her suspended, I had my own doubts, but was too scared to act on it and leave. I was afraid of the consequences."

"You wanna talk about consequences? I could tell you things about consequences that would turn you white."

"You seem so wise and mature, Maxine."

"Max, never Maxine, remember?"

"Sorry! Old habit, I'm still trying to get used to it. I didn't mess that up every time have I?"

"You haven't, not all the time."

"Oh good. Well anyway, you seem to have changed a lot since we last spoke, which now that I think about it, has been like forever."

"I take that as a compliment. You have changed too."

"I have? Huh, I didn't really notice, but thanks I suppose. I try to live up to my family's expectations too, and they expect a lot! They own a gallery of their own, you must know."

"So I heard, the "Chase Space" in Seattle. I've been there once. It's quite impressive actually."

"That's the one! I forgot for a moment that you lived in Seattle once."

"I did, for a while. My parents are still up there."

"Bet they approve of their daughter-in-law. Tell me, what is it like to be married to Rachel Amber?"

"Amazing, insane, unpredictable, intense... yeah, you get the picture. Speaking of which, I wanna check if she messaged me, hang on."

Max grabbed her phone and it had a bunch of messages on it.

"I'm such a dumbass, I still had this thing muted, no wonder I didn't check it sooner."

Finally, she found what she was looking for and the news was not good.

"Just when you thought you had your life in order. Fuck!", she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?", Victoria asked.

Max explained the situation based on what Rachel told her about Sera's disappearance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope they can find her soon."

"You and me both Victoria, you and me both."

They headed back to the hotel and to their rooms. Max appreciated the fact that Victoria didn't bring up the scholarship dispute so far and hoped that she could forget about that just for a moment to comfort her wife who was without a doubt awaiting her phone call.


	39. Paths

Flying back to Portland alongside Victoria and Mr. West, Max felt an even stronger need to reunite with Rachel. They had been apart for less than two days, but given what she had reported about Sera, Max was concerned that Rachel might be up to something risky. While she trusted her not to do anything dangerous, she wished to simply be there.

After a quick and simple lunch was served on the flight, Max spent her time chatting with Victoria. Had someone told her just two days earlier that not only would she be fine with being around her but also actually enjoying her company she would have declared them insane. Max felt that it was a shame that the "previous" Victoria couldn't have been more like this. She wouldn't have called her a friend as of yet, but she started to understand why Max's counterpart might have seen and treated this Victoria as one.

They both avoided the elephant in the room, however. The scholarship disaster hung above them like a dark cloud, waiting to rain on them as soon as one of them would mention the topic, but they didn't, at least not yet. Max for her part felt like she had won fair and square, but taking something like this from someone else wasn't something she would take great pride in at the same time. Mr. West thankfully also avoided talking about it, but it was still all too obvious that he was still embarrassed about the whole ordeal.

"Max?"

"Yes, Victoria?"

"I'm glad we got to talk again. For a while there, I thought you had forgotten all about me."

Forgotten wasn't really the word, having "ignored her" was more poignant, but Max didn't say that.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't judge people solely on who they socialize with. For what it's worth, I'm glad that we got to talk.", Max admitted.

"We used to talk more, well until you ended up having only eyes for Rachel and you got married to her too. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little jealous, but then again, everyone kinda was... and probably still is."

"She is one of a kind, quite unlike anyone else I ever knew."

"She is, but she never took much of an interest in me, not even as a friend. The day she took over my role of Prospera was when I realized that. Muscle relaxant... ha! Sounds like something I would have done myself in her position, at least back then."

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this, but she actually regrets doing that in hindsight.", Max said, recalling when Rachel told her about her past deeds.

"I'm over it, but next to her, its hard not to feel utterly insignificant. I mean she was my understudy and all, but still, I as if she could act circles around me if she wanted to."

Max didn't want to admit it, but Victoria was right about that. How often had Max struggled with that herself? But every time she voiced her concerns, Rachel lifted her spirits in return, telling her how important she was to her and she even went as far as to say that she was nothing without her. Mr. Jefferson said that Max had a gift that only others could perceive. Maybe there was truth to that after all.

* * *

Having arrived in Portland and driving to Arcadia Bay, Max updated Rachel about her being on the way. The drive was mostly a quiet one as everyone was just wanting to be home at this point. A few moments prior to their arrival, Victoria broke the silence.

"Max... I'm not sure if I want to decide this.", Victoria said in a serious tone.

Max snapped out of her boredom-induced stupor and faced her.

"What are you talking about?"

"The scholarship, I do not wish to make that decision."

"Why? Don't you want it?"

"Of course I do! But... I don't wanna risk alienating you like that after we just managed to speak with each other again after like a year of silence."

"Victoria, if you end up getting it, I would not take offense to that."

"You say that now, but when the moment comes you might think otherwise. No, I want _you_ to decide this."

Max's shoulders suddenly felt like her burden doubled in weight. In the original timeline, this would have been a very easy decision for her. But here?

"And if I do choose myself, you won't hate me for it?"

"No I wouldn't, because I know deep down that all this happened because of the Prescotts, not because you decided to fuck me over or something."

"Language, ladies!", Mr. West remarked. They got so caught up in their discussion, that they almost forgot that he was there with them.

"Sorry about that!", Victoria apologized.

"It's alright Ms. Chase, your frustration is well justified.", he said.

Victoria looked at Max.

"Listen, Max, no matter what you decide, I will understand."

Victoria addressed Mr. West now.

"She has a week from yesterday, right?"

"That is correct.", he confirmed.

Max had six days to make up her mind and decide both her own as well as Victoria's future.

* * *

Dropped off at their dorm by their teacher, Max told Victoria that she would contact her as soon as she made a decision on the matter and then texted Rachel. It was the late afternoon, so she should have been home by now.

About 15 minutes later, Rachel pulled up on the curb in the truck to pick her up, helping Max put her luggage onto the truck bed. With that off their hands, Max got a good look at Rachel.

She seemed happy that she was there, but visibly worried at the same time, lacking a certain spark of confidence that her eyes usually convey.

"There's my everyday hero!", Rachel said elatedly, yet somewhat downbeat. After a kiss, they took seats in the truck, with Rachel driving.

"I'm glad to see you. Are there any news on Sera?", Max asked.

"Not yet, but she can't be far, at least that's what my feelings tell me. Did you guys make a decision on who is to get that scholarship?", Rachel inquired.

"No, not yet. Victoria wants me to decide."

"For real? That's unexpected."

"I know, it's not what I expected her to say either. It seemed like she truly appreciated that she and I reconnected."

"I'd be careful, Max. Victoria knows how to fool people too, you know? She might just do this so she has an excuse to hate you for the rest of her life when you claim the prize instead of her."

"The same thought occurred to me too, but for some reason, I feel pretty sure about the fact that she meant what she said. She claims that we should hate on the Prescotts instead since they got us into this."

"Fair enough, but I know her longer than you do."

"I'm not questioning your wisdom, Rachel. I appreciate your advice. But to me, she seemed honest enough. Sometimes, you gotta give people the benefit of the doubt."

"That can get you hurt though, I should know."

"I'm well aware, but sometimes you gotta take a risk. If you never trust anyone... well... that would be a pretty lonely life. I mean, I knew almost nothing about you and yet, I trusted you enough to agree to _this_ only two months after meeting you.", Max said, pointing at the brilliant garnet ring on her finger.

"I can't argue with that... and technically I also took a risk that day."

"How so?"

"Well, your mind is that of a different Max than the one I knew at first, the one I fell in love with. I'm not going to lie, you seemed like an entirely different person at first, although I realize now that was mostly due to circumstance. Your mind was focused on finding and helping Chloe and naturally, I got the wrong impression. It wasn't until you told me the truth about your time traveling that I started recognizing you as the same person that I loved so much. To me, all that's happened is that you had been given new memories, but you were still Max Caulfield to me all the same, even if your wardrobe wasn't the same in the end and you lost your diva-like touch."

"I haven't heard you say my old name in forever it feels.", Max remarked.

"Weird huh? Do you still like being called "Mrs. Amber"?", Rachel asked her.

"I got used to it, you?"

"I _love_ it."

Suddenly, Rachel's phone started buzzing, receiving a call.

"Ah crap, can you take that?", Rachel asked Max, handing her the phone.

"Sure."

Max saw that Megan was calling.

"Hey, Megan, it's Max. What's up?"

"Max? Is Rachel there?", she asked.

"She is driving, that's why you are speaking to me instead."

"Ah, ok. Listen, you guys better come over to my place as soon as you can."

"Why, what's up?"

"It's better if you get here, just trust me."

"Ok, we are on our way. See you in a moment"

"See ya."

The call ended and Max told Rachel what Megan said.

"That better mean that Sera showed up. Then again, Megan should know better than to mess around with this. Let's see what happened. I want answers.", Rachel said with determination.

* * *

Anxiously, they pulled up into the parking lot and made their way up the stairs of the apartment complex to Sera and Megan's unit. Rachel knocked on the door and within seconds, Megan opened up.

Inside, someone else was waiting for them too. Neither Rachel nor Max expected to see this person.

"David?!", Max exclaimed in surprise.

"I see you remember me.", he replied.

Of course, she did, but not for the reasons he assumed.

"Megan, what is the meaning of this?", Rachel asked.

"I can explain.", David said lifting his hand.

"Do you know where Sera is?", Rachel asked him directly.

"No, I do not, however, it is our common interest to find her."

"How so?", Max asked him.

"Rachel's father hired me to find her. He contacted me this morning and made it clear that he considers this a high priority assignment. I just got done talking with Ms. Weaver about what we know so far."

"Did my dad tell you about what Max and I saw at the barn?", Rachel asked next.

"He did. Sounds fishy to me, but it's not much to go on. But I intend to pay the place a visit in the morning and have a look around for myself. I wanted to tell you guys in person, to let you know that you can count on my assistance in this. Mr. Amber pointed out to me how important this matter is to you."

"Be careful in there.", Max told him. Her gut had a really bad feeling about this for some reason.

"You need not worry about me, I'm always prepared.", he said, no doubt referring to his revolver.

Still, her bad feeling remained.

"Where does Sera work at anyway?", she asked Megan.

"She's bar-tending at a place in town. Apparently, she's become quite the favorite with the guests too. I checked though, they don't know where she is and they haven't seen her since yesterday either.", Megan explained.

Max's mind was trying its best to understand what was going on here. Apart from James, who had any reason to go after Sera? She couldn't think of any obvious suspects, but sadly her knowledge of Sera and who exactly she associated with was unknown to her. Damon was dead, so he couldn't have been it.

Max noticed Rachel staring at the floor. She was clearly upset, coming up here under the impression that she would find her mother safe and sound. That was not the case, however. Her behavior did not go unnoticed by Megan and David either.

"I'm sorry that she isn't here, that's not what you wanted to hear.", Megan said.

Within the blink of an eye Rachel suddenly had gotten up, grabbed hold of an empty glass bowl from the table and she was about to smash it down on the floor in fury.

"Rachel!", Max yelled, fearing this could lead to something catastrophic.

Max didn't expect her last-second plea to accomplish anything, but Rachel instantly froze in place, still holding the bowl in her hands. After a moment, she had placed it back on the table and sat back on the couch, her face buried in her hands. Faint sobs could be heard coming from her. At least a complete disaster was avoided. Max would rather not imagine what her powers would do this place at the rate they had grown if they were to be unleashed.

"I think it's better if we go.", Max said with an apologetic look at Megan.

"It's alright, I'm sorry that this wasn't what you guys came for.", Megan responded, clearly upset as well. She had meant well, wanting them to know that David was on the case.

"I don't blame you, Megan. David? I will give you my number, please let me know immediately if you find something.", Max said, who then proceeded to enter her info into David's phone with his permission.

With Rachel an emotional wreck, Max held on to her and they slowly went out and down the stairs of the apartment building, carrying her with an arm around the shoulder all the way to the truck. Then she drove them home.

* * *

The whole way there Rachel's face remained like that of a statue and she didn't utter a single word, instead staring into nothingness. Max knew that precious little she could say would help now, so instead, she wished to simply comfort her as much as she could given the circumstances.

Max took it upon herself to move her heavy luggage into the house and up the stairs, while Rachel was still sitting in the car, seemingly mentally absent.

When they went inside together, Rose gave Rachel a concerned look but Max waved her off, knowing that Rachel wouldn't permit anyone else to be with her right now.

"Will you guys eat dinner?", Rose asked with a concerned tone.

"Not now I don't think, I will explain later, I'm sorry.", Max told her.

Carrying Rachel up the stairs, she had still remained silent, as if she didn't care at all what happened around her at this point. In their room, she moved Rachel on to the bed and laid her down, with her not making any effort to stop Max from doing so.

What could Max do to snap her out of it? She needed something to invoke a positive reaction from Rachel. Looking around, nothing immediately jumped out at her, but then she remembered something she had done in the past that Rachel had loved.

Max went and turned the lights off and proceeded to get two candles from Rachel's desk to light them. She hoped the memory they represented might accomplish something. Setting them on the nightstand, she tried to get Rachel's attention, who laid there with her back to Max.

"Hey, look at this.", Max said to her in a soft voice.

As Rachel had turned herself around, Max could see the red, teary eyes of hers. She looked deeply distraught, but the warm light of the candles caught her attention and she remained quietly staring into them for a short moment.

"I'm so sorry for causing a scene, Max.", she eventually managed to say, like hypnotized by the flames.

"It's alright, Rachel, you stopped yourself. I was hoping we would see her there too. But look at the bright side, we will get our answers soon.", Max said, trying to keep her calm.

"I hope so, I really do."

Unfortunately, Rachel's crying only intensified now, as if she'd been trying to hold the worst back this whole time. Max's instinct told her to do what she usually would and she laid down next to Rachel, holding her close. Maybe it was for the better though, one cannot keep their emotions penned up forever and letting it all out was sometimes the best thing to do.

"Max?", Rachel managed to say after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"Have you made a decision yet?"

What an odd change of subject that was. Why was Rachel so insistent about Max making up her mind about this? Given the circumstances, Max decided to go along, however.

"I think I actually have."

"You mean that?"

"I do."

"It's not official yet is it?"

"It's not."

"Max, make the call."

"Huh?"

"Call your teacher, right now and tell him."

This confused Max greatly. Why was _that_ of all things so important?

"I don't know why you care so much about this right now, but I will do as you say."

Max got her phone out of her pocket and called Mr. West, who had given both her and Victoria his number earlier.

He picked up.

"Yes?", he answered the call.

"Mr. West? It's Max Amber. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time. I wish to inform you about my decision."

"What is the word?", he asked.

Max had decided to do the one thing she could live best with.

"I decided to let Victoria have the prize she earned."

Mr. West remained quiet for a moment after she said that.

"Is that your final decision?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

"I'm sure Ms. Chase will appreciate your incredible generosity. I wish it would have been different, for everyone involved."

"Me too."

"Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. Amber. I will inform Ms. Chase right away."

"Ok."

"Good night, Mrs. Amber."

"Good night."

The call ended and Max looked at Rachel. Something in Rachel's expression had suddenly changed.

"You are selfless to a fault, Max.", she remarked.

"It's the right thing to do as far as I'm concerned. I was content with just having won the contest in the first place. I made contacts and put my name out there, so it's not like this was for nothing."

"Then this means I can finally tell you this.", Rachel said.

Where was this going? Had Rachel kept something hidden?

"Tell me _what_ exactly?"

"Max... I have been offered an incredible opportunity. Do you remember that rich guy I told you about that I scored that big tip from at work?"

"You mentioned something. Didn't you say he took a liking to you and claimed that you don't belong in a diner or something?"

"That's more or less what he said, yes. He knows the owner of a theater in New York City and I got an email from him last night. Now, I know what you are going to say and yes, Max, this is legit. I have done my research. They are offering me a job there to perform on stage. Apparently, I had made quite the impression, so they want to see what I can do. It would only be a small part, but I intend to work my way up, given the opportunity."

Max was shocked.

"For real?"

"For real, Max. I could finally perform on a _real_ stage with a _real_ audience."

"Why didn't you tell me about that sooner?"

"Because I didn't want that to affect your decision on your own future. I haven't agreed to it yet, they told me that I can jump in any time I wish to. They are fine waiting they say. I spend two hours on the phone with the theater owner this morning and it went really well."

"That's the reason? You remained silent on this because of my scholarship?"

"Yes, Max. I... I have taken enough from you already."

"Rachel, what do you mean by that?"

"Your world as you knew it. Your old family, your life... and Chloe. You lost all of that when you decided to remain here, just for me. Between that and saving my life more than once, I owe you more than I can ever pay you back. I figured this was the best way to show my appreciation, to let you have a chance to truly choose your own destiny without me being part of that equation for once."

Max took a second to process this.

"So... you are saying that if I had accepted the scholarship to study in Eugene..."

"Then I would have declined their offer without a second thought and went there with you instead."

"The only other option would have been that you and I would live separately, at least I could follow you to New York after my studying.", Max realized.

"Max, that was not an option for me. I cannot imagine living without you... and I honestly do not think that I would have the strength to take on New York all by myself. I'm willing to wait to let you finish your studies here at Blackwell and then, we are out of here. In fact, Max... I do not _want_ to live without you. I mean that in every sense of the word. I know my dad tries, but let's face it, we will never again be what we used to be once. Unless we can find my mom... you are all that I have left."

Max didn't know to say. Even though Rachel had told her before that she put her dreams second if Max needed it so, she didn't know until now that she actually meant what she said at that time. This was the proof and Max felt deeply humbled by that and had to try hard not to cry herself.

"So... you want to wait for me to finish here at Blackwell?", she asked.

"Yes, after that, if you are willing, we can take New York by storm. Can you imagine that? The city that never sleeps could be our home..."

"I have a hard time imagining it, but it sounds incredible. I've never been there."

"Neither have I, but I always wanted to go. I never thought I'd be going to pursue a career there though. We still have time to decide, since I want to wait on you first, so don't feel pressured to answer me right now. For the time being, I just want you to be with me and enjoy the light of the candles that you so thoughtfully provided."


	40. Conspiracy - Part 1

Waking up, Rachel realized that they had fallen asleep early the day before. In her dreams, she had been visited by the ravens again, but still felt no closer to an answer as to what they meant. The candles had burned all the way down by this point, but Max was still there, her arms wrapped around Rachel. She checked the time.

It was 7 AM. They had missed out on dinner the evening before and her stomach had no qualms reminding her of that fact. Max was still out of it and Rachel tried to carefully free herself to get up without disturbing her. Unfortunately, that did not work and Max woke up.

"Going somewhere?", she asked after she managed to get her eyes open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.", Rachel apologized.

"It's ok, I feel like I slept forever."

"We kinda did actually, it's 7."

"Don't get up just yet.", Max said with a visible request in her eyes.

Rachel knew what she wanted, and in hindsight, the feeling was mutual as she leaned in gave Max a kiss.

"That's better.", Max remarked afterward.

Rachel appreciated the love and attention, but her mind ended up going to a different place regardless. David should have been doing his investigation right around this time.

"Can you check your phone?", she asked Max, who understood what she was getting at.

There were no messages yet. She hoped that this just meant that David was being thorough in his work, leaving no stone unturned.

They got dressed, with Rachel putting on her work clothes, while Max preferred her pink Jane Doe shirt with her hoodie. Rachel looked around as to what else there was and spotted the blue beanie they had found in the truck earlier.

"Do you wanna wear this?", she asked Max, holding it up for her to see.

"I don't think that would go well with me.", Max replied.

Rachel put it on herself and checked out the results in the mirror.

"Figures you'd make it look cool as hell.", Max said somewhat envious.

" _Hella_ cool, if nothing else.", Rachel corrected her. "I'm totally putting this back on later. Care to join me for breakfast? I don't know about you, but I'm starving to death over here."

"Same, let's head down. You are kinda running late anyway."

Max had a point, usually, Rachel would give herself a good buffer of time in the morning to get to work early. This morning, she couldn't afford to waste a minute.

After chowing down on two instead of one bowl of cereals, as usual, Rachel was forced to get underway to work if she wanted to make it in time.

"I will see you later, love you!", she said, giving Max a quick kiss on the way out.

"Love you too, have a good day at work.", she replied.

Rachel left, leaving Max by herself.

* * *

With nothing else to do but to clean and put up the breakfast dishes, she decided to head to school early, she could always hang out with Warren and Brooke, or maybe even Victoria if she was willing.

As Max approached her truck, she noticed a bird sitting on its roof and it appeared to be looking at her. Yet another raven. Even as she got closer, the animal made no effort to fly away, however, it didn't seem to be injured which could have normally prevented it from doing so. Max used her camera and snapped a picture of it for her collection. She then opened the truck door and the bird croaked at her loudly, startling her briefly, before taking off and flying away, joining a flock that was circling nearby. Now they appeared to Max too? What was it that it was trying to say?

She focused on getting to Blackwell for now, mentally preparing for her first day of school ever since winning the Everyday Heroes contest. Upon her arrival, she spotted Victoria hanging with the Vortex Club group, but there was one glaring omission: Nathan wasn't there yet.

Victoria noticed Max and excused herself from her group for a moment.

"Hey, Max. I uh, I don't know how to thank you. I didn't think you would choose me.", she said, visibly grateful for Max's decision. "Can I hug you?"

Max permitted it.

"You are a good friend. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know ok?", Victoria offered.

"If you can keep Nathan from messing with my wife and friends, that would do just fine actually.", Max said plainly.

"I'm sorry about what he did, but I don't think you will have to worry about that anymore, at least for now.", she said.

"How so?"

"Nathan is in jail. Turns out he made a big mistake the other day, inciting an incident at the Two Whales. He thought it was a smart idea to harass the staff and the cops came and got him."

What's this? Rachel didn't mention any of that. Maybe she didn't want Max to worry about it? That must have been it.

"That was enough to end up in jail?", she asked in surprise.

"Oh no, what made that happen was the stash of drugs that the cops found on him. He isn't getting out any time soon."

Well, that was a relief, at least Nathan wouldn't prove to be an obstacle for a while.

"Anyway, Max, thank you again, this scholarship means a lot to me. My family expresses their gratitude as well and wish you the best. I better get back to Courtney, before she flips out on me, see you around, Max."

"Thanks, later Victoria."

Max couldn't quite believe her luck. First Rachel gets the most incredible job offer she could have asked for and then Nathan gets busted? This day was shaping up well so far. But then she remembered that Sera was still missing. Checking her phone, there still was no message from David.

On the lawn, she could see Mr. Jefferson working on the sprinkler system and decided to pay him a visit.

"Good morning, Mr. Jefferson.", she greeted him.

He looked up in response.

"Oh, good morning, Max. How is our everyday hero doing?"

"I could be better, but I'm doing alright."

"How was San Francisco?", he asked.

"It was a bit overwhelming, but it was a good time... well, mostly."

"Oh? Did something go wrong?"

She told him about the scholarship fiasco and that she had decided to give the prize to Victoria.

"I will be honest, Max, I don't know if I could have withstood that temptation. Nevertheless, what you did was a noble thing. I hope Ms. Chase will appreciate it."

"She does, but I still wonder why this happened."

"The world is full of things we cannot always readily explain. Some things take years, maybe even centuries to understand. Some, on the other hand, are never understood. At least you managed to make an impression with the press right?"

"I suppose, yes. I never felt so important in my life before, having people literally line up to talk to me was... weird."

"Tell me, Max, how is Rachel doing these days?", he asked her next.

Max explained the offer that Rachel had received.

"Most incredible, if it is true as she claims. New York City is a far cry from Arcadia Bay though.", he remarked.

"It is, but I'm grateful she's willing to wait on me."

"Max, I do not know Rachel as well as you do, but I can only say what I told you before. Rachel is a very strong individual, but even she would have a hard time in New York all by herself and I think she knows that. I think she needs you."

"You are probably right, the thought of letting her go there alone would make me feel very uneasy too... not to mention the fact that we'd be living apart."

"Long-distance relationships can work, but they are not for most people, that's for sure."

"I better get ready for my class, have a nice day, Mr. Jefferson."

"See you soon."

* * *

Max made her way inside for her English class and the day went smoothly. During a break, she chatted with Warren, telling him about the news on both herself, Rachel and Nathan.

"Holy shit, Nathan got busted? I can't say I'm sorry to hear that!", he said.

"Me neither, good riddance I'd say.", Max said in agreement.

"The guy always creeped me out, especially after seeing what he tried to do Rachel, but you made him your bitch in no time."

"Yeah, but that didn't stop from going after Daniel and you."

"I totally had that under control."

"Yeah... right that's totally what it looked like. Just admit that you got saved by a girl."

"Ugh, fine..."

"I'm listening..."

"You saved our asses, I admit. It got kinda scary there for a second, to be honest. Now we can walk around without having to check our backs all the time."

"I even made peace with Victoria.", Max stated.

"I thought you used to be friends anyway?"

"It's more complicated than that, I'm afraid."

"Max, you seem strange today, stranger than usual."

Max had put this off long enough and simply took the direct approach. Warren deserved to know about this by now.

"Warren, you wanna know what my real story is?"

"You got my full attention."

"Well, almost precisely 11 months ago I discovered that I can rewind time. I saved my best friend Chloe Price from getting shot by Nathan and later I found out by accident that I could "travel" through photographs, which sent me back to 2008 where I prevented the death of William Price, Chloe's dad. I then re-appeared in a new timeline back in in the present of 2013 at the time, in which this change had taken effect. That's when I realized that Rachel Amber became my girlfriend, that my best friend Chloe was in a wheelchair and that you hooked up with Stella... instead of trying to court me like you used to."

After Max finished Warren simply remained in a stare.

"Wait... what? Are you a time traveler and a dimensional traveler all in one? For real?"

"I swear it's true, I have no reason to lie to you, you should know me that well by now."

"If anyone else had told me that, I would have suggested that they had seen too many science-fiction movies. Brooke did mention that you said something weird like that. But you seem pretty honest about it. Can you prove it?"

"Not really, I cannot rewind time anymore. But I can tell you things about your counterpart and based on that you could tell me if that sounds like you or not."

"Ok, tell me, what's the other Warren like then?"

"Well, he loves science-fiction just like you do. He once gave me a USB stick with a bunch of movies on it, such as Cannibal Holocaust and dared me to watch them."

"You are joking, that's the same thing I did with Stella once!"

"Nope, I'm not. It even had a little extra folder inside with my name on it in all capital letters."

"Mine had that too, although it was Stella's name. What... uh, what was in yours?"

"I never found out."

"Oh, good."

"What? Should I have peeked?"

"I don't know, but given how similar our story seems to be, it might have been better you didn't in hindsight if the other Warren writes anything like I do."

"He wrote me something?"

"You know what? I'm just gonna shut up now."

"Might be better, yeah. By the way, did you by any chance take Stella to a Planet of the Apes marathon?"

"I did actually."

"I knew you wouldn't "go ape" alone."

Warren seemed pretty convinced of Max's story at this point.

"That is crazy, I'm friends with an extradimensional temporal being!", he exclaimed.

"Calling me "Max" will suffice, thank you very much... Professor Graham."

"Sorry, I didn't want to be mean or anything."

"It's ok, I know how excited you get about science. Just keep this to yourself and Brooke ok? I trust you guys enough, but I don't want the rest of the world to know. You guys and Rachel are the only ones who do and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You can count on me, Max."

Max's phone received a message from David. Finally!

* * *

Rachel drove home from work, with her pockets full of tips. Altogether, it should have been about 180 dollars if she counted correctly. A good day's work when combined with her regular pay.

Anxiously she parked her car at the house and entered, wanting to hear from Max on any news regarding Sera.

"Good evening, Rachel.", James greeted her upon entering.

"Hey, dad. Is Max home?"

"She is upstairs last I checked."

She hastily went up and went into her room. Max was doing her homework from the looks of it.

"Hey, Rachel.", she said in greeting.

"Hey, Max. Do you have any news?"

"I'm sorry, but nothing good. David went to the barn and couldn't find anything or anyone. He did put up cameras though, to keep an eye on it."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, he said he spent over an hour looking. Sera wasn't there. In fact, nobody was."

"Then he didn't look hard enough!"

"Rachel, maybe what we saw was just that. A weird guy in a suit who just happened to have been there. How do we even know that this has anything to do with your mom?"

"I just know it, Max. Now, if you would excuse me, I'm going."

"Going where? The barn?"

"Yes, the damn barn, where else?!"

"Wait, hold on! You can't go out there by yourself, that's too dangerous!"

"Is it? After you just told me that you claim that this place is empty?"

"I just have a really bad feeling about this, please don't go!"

"I have to go, Max. My mom could be out there, waiting for me to come get her right now. I cannot just sit here and pretend this isn't happening. Can I count on your help with this?", Rachel asked while exchanging her uniform with her regular clothes.

"If I say no, you will just go alone and that I do not like. So, yes, I'm coming if that's what it takes.", Max said.

Rachel put on her dark military-style jacket, that she used to wear only to concerts once upon a time. She hid her trusty throwing knives in a pocket and then donned Chloe's former necklace and beanie.

"Good, let's go.", she declared once she was ready.

Rachel saw Max texting something into her phone rather hastily.

"What are you doing?", she asked.

"I'm telling everyone where we are going, I had a feeling that this was going to happen and we prepared accordingly."

"Splendid, more eyes can only help. Now let's get _going_!"

On the way down, she ran into James who tried to stop her.

"Rachel, what do you think you are doing?", he asked with his phone in hand. He must have just read Max's message.

"Taking action. I'm done sitting on my ass doing nothing. Now, since you can't stop me anyway, why don't you come along too? I will leave, either way, dad."

He sighed audibly.

"Fine, but this is a fool's errand, you'll see."

"We will won't we?"

They all got into the car and Rachel was driving. There was no force on Earth that could have stopped her at this point.

"David is coming too, he will meet us there.", Max said, riding shotgun.

"It's just an old barn with nothing in it. If Sera was there, I'm sure Mr. Madsen would have found her this morning.", James said, sitting in the back.

Rachel remained silent, her instinct telling her to keep driving towards their destination, no matter what.

* * *

When they arrived, the place seemed deserted. Only David was there, standing by his parked car as he waited for them. Rachel wanted to storm right ahead and into the place, but he wouldn't permit that.

"Now hold on there soldier, has no one ever told you not to rush head-first into potential enemy territory?!", he said rather directly, sounding a lot more like the David that Max remembered.

"Ugh, fine, after you... "Sarge".", she said reluctantly, backing off.

David went inside the place first, with everyone else waiting outside and watching. After a moment, he came back out.

"All clear, you can come in.", he called over.

The place smelled stuffy and had clearly seen better days. Some of the farming equipment here must have been collecting dust for decades and there was no sign that anyone was still using any of it, given its general state of disrepair.

"The Prescotts own this thing, or at least they used to at the beginning of the previous century. Doesn't really look like they still care about it.", David said.

Rachel checked every corner, looking for any trace of her mother but there was nothing to see. She then climbed upstairs to the second level, but the upstairs was empty as well, safe for an owl that had made its nest there.

"I've been through that too, nothing up there but a bird.", David said.

With nothing else to see, she made her way back down, landing on the hay.

The impact sounded somewhat strange though, as the floor seemed to have given in slightly when she got down.

"Wait a minute...", she said and inspected the spot she had landed on. Pushing with her foot, something was definitely reacting.

"Guys, there's something here.", she called out.

"What did you find?", Max asked as she came over.

"I don't know, help me move this hay out of the way."

The group pushed the hay off the spot, revealing what appeared to be a locking mechanism of some kind. It was old but too strong to break by hand or with any of the tools in the barn.

Max seemed to have an idea though.

"Maybe we can use this pulley system up there to knock that lock off?"

"Oh please, everyone step aside!"

David had his gun out and everyone moved out of the way.

With one clean shot, the lock was no more.

"On second thought, that is easier, I suppose.", Max admitted.

David inspected the result and suddenly pulled open a hidden compartment in the floor.

"It's a trap door. I missed _that_ earlier.", David said somewhat embarrassed.

"The police must not have seen it either. How sloppy.", James remarked.

The opening led to stairs which in turn ended in a narrow corridor below. David went down first, followed by Max, then Rachel and finally James who took up the rear. Following the way, they arrived at a large metal door. It looked way too advanced to be a hundred years old. Rachel knew this was put here a lot more recently, especially given the state of the art numerical pad on its side.

"How we get past this thing?", Rachel asked, her patience running thin.

David examined the pad. It seemed to have remarkable wear and tear considering how new it seemed at first.

"I can sort of see which numbers were pressed on here, this has been used a lot. Give me a minute."

"I told you guys there was more to this, but no one believed me!", Rachel said.

"To be fair, this is the last thing any of us expected.", James said. "Who puts a high-security door under a barn?"

"A Prescott, of course.", Max said.

Finally, with a beeping sound, the door unlocked and David pushed it open. Rachel could have sworn for a second that a blue shimmer had shot past her field of vision shortly after, but as she turned around, there was nothing to be seen. David then motioned everyone to remain silent as he went inside the sparsely lit area that was ahead. This place felt wrong in too many ways to count, but Rachel swallowed her fear, focusing her mind entirely on finding Sera. It was all that mattered.

She could see David look around for a moment, making sure no one was home.

"There's nobody around, but there's another door in here, seems like it leads to a separate area on the left over here, can't tell what's behind it. My best guess is that this whole thing is a storm shelter or something. There is nothing else in here.", he said.

Max went inside next.

"David what do you think is behind that other d..."

Rachel never heard Max finish her sentence. Before anyone else could make their way inside the bunker, it's door had violently slammed shut in front of her, cutting her and James off from the others. The sound was so loud, it might as well have been a gunshot going off.

Rachel looked at her father in a panic.

"Dad what do we do?!"

Instead of answering, he started to violently cough.

A gas had been suddenly dispensed from the walls next to the reinforced door, knocking both her and James unconscious immediately, before they had any chance to react and run back up the stairs.

* * *

Inside, Max was trapped and so was David.

"David, what happened?! Can you get it back open?"

He put in the same number that unlocked the door the first time, but to no avail.

"Damn it! Someone had locked this thing remotely and changed the combination!", he yelled.

Brute force was certainly not going to help, the door looked like it could withstand a grenade blast. What could Max do?

Suddenly, a speaker system inside the bunker came online and a voice could be heard speaking.

"I suggest you make yourself comfortable. This is the last place you will ever see alive."


	41. Conspiracy - Part 2

To Rachel, everything was a blur. She could feel the ground below but didn't have enough strength to move. She could hear faint noises but lacked the focus to process them.

By the time she could finally open her eyes again, she found herself on the ground, lying on concrete, a slight breeze blowing across her face. She was hurting, with her left arm feeling bruised.

"Hey, are you ok down there?", she could hear the voice of a child say.

She looked up and beheld two girls that stood above her. They must have been around 8 or 9 years old. Something felt familiar about this.

"Here, those assholes tried to take your stuff, but I made them regret that.", the taller blonde girl said, handing her a small backpack. She recognized it, it was her old one that she used to have in elementary school. She was in the past.

"Chloe, watch the language! What if a teacher heard you?", the shorter one with brown hair scolded.

"So what, Maxine? I call them like I see them."

"Take my hand, I'll get you up.", the girl named Maxine said, offering Rachel her hand and she took hold with her own, now much smaller hand and she got back on her feet.

"Thank you.", she could hear herself say. She felt achy, but alright otherwise.

"You are welcome. Watch your back out there, it can be pretty rough around here.", Chloe told her.

"Alright Captain Bluebeard, see any other fellow pirates in need of help?"

"Keep an eye on the horizon, Long Max Silver!"

With that they had walked off, leaving Rachel standing there with her backpack in hand. She didn't speak to her heroes again after that, at least not for a very, very long time.

* * *

Suddenly, the dream ended abruptly and Rachel came back to the real world, which had become a much scarier place than any schoolyard could ever prove to be.

Once more she found herself on the ground, but this time in the dirt. Their arms had been tied up with rope. Looking up, the first thing she noticed were two pistols pointed at her and her father. Two men in what looked like security uniform had been keeping watch on them. They were in the junkyard.

"Looks like they've come around, boss.", she could hear one of them say.

Behind the two guards, a figure now emerged from the shadows. A man wearing glasses and a black suit now stood before her, looking down at her like he was beholding an insect. She knew this man and it was without a doubt the same one she saw enter the mill before.

"Rachel and James Amber. You have proven yourself to be _quite_ a nuisance.", he said.

"You! It was you!", Rachel yelled. "Where is my mother, Prescott?"

"If I were you, I would rather be concerned about your own situation. You damn snoopers have stuck your nose into my business and you see, I can't tolerate that."

"Tell me where my mother is, _right now_!"

"My oh my, you do have a temper. You really should have raised this one better James, she is lacking manners... and a respect for those above her."

"Let her go, Sean! She has nothing to do with this!", James pleaded.

"Oh, but you see she does. You both have messed with something you really shouldn't have. I cannot allow the Prescott family line to be ruined by the likes of you. First, she and her little friend turned my son into a weeping dog and then you had him incarcerated too? That was your final mistake, James."

One of the guards put a gun to James' forehead.

"NO! Leave him be!", Rachel yelled, unable to move but attempting to struggle. If only she could get to her knives somehow. At this point she would have loved to stick one right through this assholes eye-ball. Where was Max?! Where was David? Why couldn't anyone help?!

"I think I will have both of you buried right here, seems appropriate.", Sean Prescott said coldly, referring to the junkyard around them. "I know it's not the fancy ambiance you are used to, but I think after what you've done you deserve to rest among the refuse, where you belong. Now get up, a man deserves to die on his feet, don't you agree, James?"

"Rachel... I'm sorry.", James said looking at his daughter, as he got yanked up by the guards.

"Dad... I forgive you."

The ensuing gunshot rang through the air like an explosion and James Amber fell to the ground, now motionless.

"DAD!"

Rachel fell to her knees, moving herself to her father's side, but there was nothing she could have done for him. For all the hate and resentment she had felt towards him for a large part of her life, she now felt overwhelmed with sadness and grief.

"You monster! How could you?!", she screamed in agony.

"I am no more a monster than he was my dear. This is just business. The difference between us that he lost the game. And you are out of moves to make."

Rachel could care less about her own fate at this point.

"Where is Max? Where is my MOTHER?", Rachel shouted.

"Again with the mother! Fine, if you need to know, you will all be reunited _very_ soon. Sooner than you think that is."

"Are they dead?", Rachel asked under tears.

"You were all dead the second you decided to mess with this family.", he said plainly.

Rachel realized she was the only one left as the guards took aim at her.

Rachel's insides felt like an inferno and there was no holding back what was about to happen. If she had to die, she would at least make sure to make this bastard pay first.

Making no attempt to stop the building power inside, she unleashed a scream so loud that it forced her attackers to cover their ears. She had no idea what it is she was about to do but made no attempt to stop it. In the sky above, a mighty thunderstorm had formed in an instant, bringing ravaging winds and rain. However, it wasn't enough to stop them. Drained from exhaustion, Rachel fell to the ground like a ragdoll and lost consciousness.

Sean looked down at the girl that had made his ears bleed. What was her deal? Where did this sudden storm come from? He was about to instruct his men to finish the job when suddenly, something unexpected happened.

A raven had come to Rachel's side and put itself in between her and Sean and his men. It screeched aggressively.

However, where there was one, there were now many more, as an entire flock of over 20 ravens descended upon the three men and started attacking like a swarm of raging killer bees. In a panic, Sean's men opened fire, but they could do little to stop this unrelenting assault of beaks and talons as they fell to the ground in a bloody heap. With the guards dead, the entire flock now went after Sean, who tried to run, but it was in vain. The birds showed no mercy on him. His dying screams echoed into the darkness of the coming night.

Sean Prescott was nevermore.

Eventually, Rachel regained consciousness and examined the results of what she had done. The birds had left again, leaving her all by herself. She had avenged everyone's death... but at what price?

She remained crying by her father's side, her tears mixing with the rain that kept falling. Her own impulsiveness got everyone killed. She should have just accepted her mother's fate and moved on. It would have been painful, but livable. Now, Rachel felt like an empty shell.

"Max... I'm sorry. This is all my fault.", she uttered to herself.

Rachel got up, prying herself away from her dead father.

With heavy steps, she started making her way through the junkyard. She had only one option left if she wanted to see Max again.

With thunder still raging above, she slowly made her way to the train tracks.

* * *

Her sorrow still felt overwhelming, but she forced her mind to focus on the one task she had left to fulfill and she started listening for the sound of a coming train. Based on the time, there should have been one coming at any moment. She remained standing in the middle of the tracks, ready to leave behind all of her pain and rejoin Max wherever it is she was now. In her mind, she recalled her most fond memories. The look on Max's face when she first met her on that fateful day, the time Max confessed her love to her and every moment they spend together ever since. Why couldn't that have lasted?

In the distance, she heard the train coming. Not much longer now.

Just like before, she thought about any reasons she had for not doing this, but unlike the last time, nothing came to her mind. What was the point of a career if she had no one to hold on to? What was the point of fame and fortune if there was no one to share it with? No, that did not sound like a life worth living to her.

For a moment she thought she could have seen the lights of the train in the distance, but it was taking its time. Why did she have to suffer the wait? She just wanted to be with her soulmate and free of all this pain.

Then, the train turned the corner and came into view, careening towards her with deadly speed. Despite the best efforts of the train driver hitting the brakes, it was way too late to stop the train now.

As it quickly came closer and its headlights pointed at her, Rachel had closed her eyes for the final time, arms stretched out.

"I'm right behind you, Max..."

The thundering noise of the train grew louder and louder and became unbearable, as, with one last deep breath, it was right in front of her.

Then, the world seemed to change around her.

Opening her eyes, she saw the train seemingly frozen, as was everything else around her. Raindrops hang in the air like ornaments hanging from a Christmas tree. What was the meaning of this? Was this the afterlife?

She looked around and then she spotted Max, who appeared to have made her way over from out of the darkness. It seemed like they were the only ones able to move, with the rest of reality frozen around them.

"Max... is that really you?", she asked.

"Rachel... move...!"

Max's voice sounded weak and then Rachel saw that her nose had been bleeding terribly.

"Rachel, please, I... cannot do this much longer!"

"How do I know you are real?!", Rachel asked. "I thought you were dead!"

"I cannot explain it right now, just... get away from that train... just go, I'm losing control!", Max shouted out of breath and on the verge of collapse. "Rachel, I won't let you die, now _move_!", Max shouted with all the strength she had left.

Making a split-second decision, Rachel jumped. She avoided the train which now barreled past her at break-neck speed as she saw Max falling down. Running over to her, Rachel touched her to ascertain that she wasn't imagining another ghost image like her own counterpart turned out to be. But this Max felt real, extremely weak, but real nonetheless. The weather took a turn for the better now, as the rain had stopped and the thunder had moved on.

"You are alive... you are alive!", Rachel uttered under heavy sobs.

She received no response from her. With a newfound strength of her own, Rachel grabbed hold of her wife and managed to lift her up. They were far from town, but she'd carry Max to the end of the world if she had to.

She made her way towards the road in front of the junkyard where she ran into David, who seemed to have survived as well.

"David!", she shouted.

As soon as he saw her, he came running.

"Rachel, are you and Max ok?", he asked concerned upon seeing Max in her arms.

"I'm fine, but she isn't. Please, help me get her out of here!"

"I've got my car back there, do you want me to help you get her there?", he offered.

"I will carry her.", Rachel said determinedly. "David... where... where is Sera?"

"She's in the hospital right now, but she is alive... barely. We need to get you guys there."

"What the fuck happened back there? What did we find?"

"I will tell you later, let's just get you to the hospital first. Where is Mr. Amber?"

Rachel shook her head to give her response. David seemed to understand.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. We tried to come here as fast as we could."

"It's not your fault... it was Sean Prescott."

"Goddamnit, I knew he had something to do with this!"

They got into David's car and drove away from the junkyard, heading towards town.

David drove as fast as he could. Rachel was in the back, with Max still unconscious but at her side. Wiping her tears away, she then dedicated all of her attention to her partner, keeping her close. She looked horrible like she had been through an ordeal no better than Rachel's. What happened back there? Did Max manage to regain her powers somehow?

"David, I feel like I never properly thanked you for helping us when you did, both at the bank and now. You don't know what would have happened otherwise."

"It's alright. You don't need to thank me, you've been through enough. But I appreciate it. How is Max doing back there?"

"She's breathing, but that's it. She's got a terrible nose bleed going too."

"We will get her help, we are almost there."

* * *

Having arrived at the hospital, the doctors wanted to examine Rachel as well, but she insisted that she was alright. She couldn't say the same for her partner though and had Max turned over to them.

Together with David, they sat for agonizing minutes that stretched into over half an hour. It felt like an eternity, with the images of the recent events still fresh in Rachel's mind, playing in her mind's eye like a never-ending slideshow of terror. James was gone. She remembered when she had told him to go to hell over what he had done. For what it was worth, she hoped that that was not where he ended up, wherever he actually was at this point.

Finally, the word was given for them to come visit Max and also Sera. They accommodated the same room for the both of them.

Inside, Rachel found them both in beds and was torn as to whom to pay attention to first. She looked at Max, who had come around and noticed her struggle of deliberation. She simply nodded, signaling that she was ok and Rachel went over to her mother instead.

Sera looked dreadful but was very much alive. Her face lit up when she spotted her daughter coming for her.

"Mom!"

Rachel cried heavily, but not from anger and sorrow this time, trying to hug her mom best as she could given the angle. Her tears ended up all over the blanket and pillow of her mother's bed.

"I'm ok honey, I'm alright.", Sera said with a weak voice, trying to comfort her.

In the midst of all the horror and loss that this day had brought, Rachel felt eternally grateful for this moment. Those who mattered the most to her were right here in this room.

After she took a moment to regain composure, she wanted answers as to why all of this occurred.

"Mom... what the hell happened to you? Where have you been?"

Sera took a deep breath and held on Rachel's hand.

"I got taken after that meeting at the union, by Prescott's men."

"But why?"

"That monster... Sean Prescott has been secretly disposing of his competition and his enemies. Our union was next and I got picked first. Anyone who got in his way and made enough noise got taken from what I understand. They locked me up in this bunker of his."

"What did he do to you?"

"That's it, they locked me up. The whole thing was designed like a prison cell."

David chimed in on this.

"It's true, I saw it. The whole thing was solid metal in there but nothing else in it. No way in or out except for that reinforced door. That's not to mention the bunker door itself.", he said.

"Why did he lock people up though?"

"To make it look like an accident when they would dump us.", Sera said.

"What?"

"That bunker was no prison in the traditional sense. It was nothing less than a starvation chamber. He would have people thrown in there, waited for them to die and then had them placed in some remote area far away from civilization so that it would appear as if we all just got lost and starved to death or died from dehydration. It was convincing enough to the police. I had given up hope of ever getting out of there."

"Oh, mom..."

"Where is James, honey?", Sera asked her next.

It took Rachel's entire strength to not lose control of her emotions to respond.

"Mom... dad is... gone."

"What?!"

"They took us after we got separated from the others and had him shot right in front of me. I could do nothing but watch... I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. But why him?"

"Because he had seen and known too much.", David said. "That and he had Sean's son incarcerated yesterday after a disturbance at the Two Whales diner."

"For once my dad was doing his job and protected me from danger... only to die for it.", Rachel said with her face to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. Where is Sean Prescott now?"

"In hell, at least I hope."

"Wait... what do you mean? Is he dead?", Sera asked.

"Very."

"How?"

"I don't understand it myself mom, all I know is that at some point I had lost consciousness and when I woke up, he and his goons were gone. Some animals got them I think."

Rachel knew what happened. The ravens had heeded her call. It's what they had been trying to warn her about this whole time. The vision she had back on the cruise ship didn't show her father shooting Sera. It was him getting shot by Sean Prescott and her falling represented her collapse following the use of her powers. It made sense now. But she couldn't tell anyone that. Other than Max, but not in front of everyone else.

"Isn't that fitting? Even Arcadia Bay itself wanted that bastard dead.", David remarked.

"Seems that way.", Sera said in agreement.

Rachel looked her mother into the eyes again.

"Are you alright mom?"

"Just malnutrition they said, although pretty severe. I need plenty of rest though."

"Ok."

"Listen, Rachel, you should check on Max now. I will be here when you need me."

She pressed her daughter's hand firmly before letting go, allowing her to tend to her wife.

Making her way over to Max, she saw that Max had been watching her this whole time. They couldn't speak about what exactly happened and they knew this. What they really wanted to say to each other would have to wait until another time when they would be alone.

"Max... I don't know what to say but thank you. You... you are just incredible.", Rachel said, her voice shaking.

Rachel had put one hand on Max's shoulder, the other on the hand with the ring.

"Just doing my job.", Max said.

"You really are the greatest gift there could ever be."

"I could say the same about you."

"Are you sure you are doing ok?"

"I'm just very, very tired. My brain feels on fire, but they already gave me painkillers for it. You?"

"Hell of a headache, but otherwise I'm ok. Do you know long you guys will be here for?"

"I might get out tomorrow, but Sera won't leave for a while I don't think."

"I will be waiting for you, Max. We have much to discuss."

"I know, but remember, I have my phone on me if you need me urgently."

The door to the room went open out of the sudden.

"What the fuck happened to you guys?!", Megan exclaimed upon seeing them.


	42. Scars

Rachel arrived at the Amber house alone tonight. She managed to retrieve her car, thanks to Megan giving her a ride back to the dreaded barn, a place she spent not a second longer at than necessary. Max and Sera were fine for the time being, but that didn't go for all of them.

She had a very difficult task to face now.

With a heavy heart, she opened the door to her home and went in. The house suddenly seemed bigger, yet all the more empty now. Looking around inside, she half expected James to sit in his office chair or the recliner in the living room, but neither of which was occupied. Only now did it really feel like he was gone for good.

Another detail that was all too obvious now was the lack of any pictures of her dad anywhere in the house. It was like his presence had been erased from this place entirely when he died. In her chest, Rachel felt a stinging pain of guilt, knowing exactly why those pictures were gone. If only she could do what Max could and undo that somehow. But it was too late for that.

"Rachel? Where have you guys been? Where is James?"

Rose had seen her enter from the kitchen and approached her.

Even though this woman was never her real mother, she had always treated her as her own daughter. She deserved to know the truth.

"Rose... what I'm about to say is going to be hard to hear. Dad... dad is not coming home. Not anymore.", she said, mentally still seeing the image of his lifeless body in the dirt. She had to fight the tears which proved to be in vain.

"What do you mean he's not coming home?", Rose asked with grave concern.

"He... is dead. He died trying to protect me."

Out of shock, Rose collapsed on to the nearest chair and Rachel hurried to her side.

"I'm sorry, I tried all I could to save him, but there was nothing I could have done!"

"No, not James... how? How did it happen?"

"It was the Prescotts. Those bastards kidnapped Sera and when we found their dirty secret they had him shot."

Rachel embraced Rose to give her comfort, what little she could offer. She ended up telling her about Max and Sera at the hospital.

"I... I wish to be alone if you don't mind.", Rose said after a moment.

"Of course... I will be upstairs if you need me."

Rachel walked over to the stairs and gave her surrogate mother one more concerned glance before she headed up.

* * *

In her room, she let herself fall onto the bed. Any second she thought she'd be waking up from this nightmare, but it didn't happen. She had no idea what to do with herself. What she wanted the most, she couldn't do, not with Max stuck in the hospital. She wished to know how she managed to get out of her predicament and how she got her powers back.

With nothing else to turn to, she pulled out her phone, plugging it into a nearby outlet to recharge, seeing how its battery was nearly completely drained.

She opened the conversation window with Max.

 _"Thinking of you..."_ , she wrote.

After a moment she got a response.

 _"I'm thinking about you too."_ , Max responded back.

 _"Can I call?"_

 _"Not right now, sorry. Sera is asleep and I don't wanna wake her."_

The last thing Rachel wanted was to be a problem for her mother at this point.

 _"Let's not then."_

 _"I wish we could though."_

 _"Same. I just told Rose what happened..."_

 _"I'm so sorry for her. How is she taking it?"_

 _"Not well, as you would expect. She wants to be alone right now."_

 _":(("_

 _"I don't know what's going to happen now, Max..."_

 _"Rachel, whatever happens, I will be there for you. Always."_

 _"I know you will. Tell mom that I love her in the morning."_

 _"Consider it done. I will text you again tomorrow."_

 _"Ok."_

 _"I love you, Rachel."_

 _"I love you too, Max... so very, very much. Talk soon!"_

At this point, Rachel just wanted to shut out the world and retreat. She hoped her dreams would be free of the horrors of the day and she got herself bed-ready.

Before laying down, she remembered something and went through her wallet to check. There it was! The old photograph of her with James that was taken at Mt. Hood was still there. It was the only remaining picture of him that she knew of. She remembered how close she had come to not only destroy this thing with knives but also with fire. Yet, scratched and bent, it was still there. She would make sure to not ever lose it, that much she owed her father.

As she lay in bed, the total silence of the house was almost terrifying. Usually, there would be at least some kind of background noise that she could hear, be it the TV downstairs, her dad pacing about in his office or the sound of Max breathing next to her. This night, however, there was nothing. Her mind relived that dreadful moment on the train tracks over and over. She came closer to death than ever and was all too willing to accept it at the time. If only she had known that Max had been alive all along. Max's help came too late for James, however.

She eventually drifted off to sleep, trying to force these images out of her head.

* * *

"Had a rough day, did we?"

Rachel shot up like a rocket, being startled by the sudden voice speaking to her.

"Who is there?", she asked out of breath, trying to peek into the darkness of her room.

"Just me.", the voice responded. She recognized it now.

"Rachel?"

"The one... but not the only.", her reflection responded.

Turning on the light on her nightstand, she beheld her mirror image standing there next to her bed. She didn't think this was possible at first.

"Something tells me you weren't expecting me.", it said.

"You can say that again! How... how are you here?"

"I'm dead and the junkyard gets kinda boring after a while. So decided to hang out at your place tonight."

"What do you mean "hang out"? I thought you were bound to that place?"

"It's where I died, yes. Naturally, its where one would find me. But I like to stretch my proverbial legs every now and then and wander. Besides, you seem like you need company."

"Are you telling me that you can appear in my dreams whenever you want?"

"More or less, but I know we both value privacy, so I leave you be most of the time. Your dreams are most interesting though."

"How many have you seen?", Rachel asked her reflection.

"All of them, both the good and the bad."

"You caught me on a bad night."

"I could tell, mind telling me what's going on?"

"What, don't you know already?"

"I see you dreams, not your life."

"But you knew of Max and me being married..."

"You might have forgotten somehow, but you dream about her too. I find those particular dreams to be fascinating and insightful."

"Today was the worst day of my life."

"Then let me be your psychiatrist and tell me what ails you."

Rachel gave her counterpart a rundown of the last 24 hours and then some. She told her everything, with the exception of one thing.

"Wow... that is fucked up. James is dead? I... I don't know how to feel about that. Then again, I got nothing to feel with anymore. Sorry if it seems like I don't care.", her reflection said.

"He is and I almost killed myself too, which I neglected to mention."

"Train?", her reflection asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Train.", she reluctantly admitted.

"I lost count how many times I have seen you both dodge that thing as well as getting hit by it in your dreams. What stopped you from going through with it this time?"

"Max did. She saved me again."

"Your guardian angel. How did she do it?"

"I guess she got her powers back somehow. Time literally seemed frozen for a moment, right before I was supposed to die. I jumped out of the way and that was it."

"Max is messing with time again? Are not concerned about the consequences of that?"

"I am, but not enough to care right now. I'm grateful to be alive... and for her too."

"Makes one of us."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive towards your... state of being."

"No offense taken, my dear.", her reflection said.

"How do I tell, Max?"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"You know what I'm talking about. About my innermost desire?"

"Oh, that. You are starting to feel it again?"

"More than ever and I know what I want. I could be on Broadway."

"Broadway? Damn, you might end up truly putting me to shame at this rate. Well... I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I've never really been in that position you know?"

"Then tell me how you would have told Chloe, given the chance.", Rachel said.

"Well... I think the direct approach is all there is really. I mean, if you are convinced you do feel this way and it's what you want... yeah, I would just tell her how I feel about it. So long as you explain why."

"The irony."

"I know... you are referring to how I never told Chloe about my secret dealings, is that it?"

"Yes. And that is exactly the sort of situation I wish to avoid."

"I don't think you will have to worry about that, not at this point. You and I have become quite different."

"And yet we are the same."

"No argument there."

"Rachel?"

"Yes?", her reflection responded.

"Will you still be there if we leave here?"

"I might."

"It would be nice."

"That almost sounds like you are starting to enjoy my company or something."

"Maybe I am."

"I'm flattered. Considering our first encounter mostly contained yelling and accusations."

At that moment, a crazy thought came to Rachel's mind. It was a strange thing to ask, but she might as well try.

"Can I ask you a question?", she asked her reflection.

"You just did."

"Look, I know I'm a smartass, but I'm not _that_ bad."

"You tell me. What is your question?"

"Can you uh... take on a solid form? Last time we met my hand went right through you like you were a ghost."

"I _am_ a ghost if that's the term you prefer. As for your question, this is your dream, isn't it? Don't you dictate what happens here anyway?"

"I suppose..."

"Why did you ask me that?"

"I'd like to know what Max feels."

Her counterpart remained in a stare for a moment.

"I don't see how I could tell you, considering you know her better than me."

"It didn't mean it like that, I'd like to know..."

"Yes...?"

"I want to know what she feels when I kiss her."

The implication took a moment to manifest itself to her counterpart.

"Oh."

"That is all I want."

Her reflection paced around the room.

"I wonder if Max would mind that.", it said.

"This _is_ a dream, right? And I just went through literal hell. I need to feel something positive tonight or I'm gonna start crying again as soon as I wake up... which I may end up doing anyway."

"Good arguments. Besides, technically I _am_ you. You are me. I don't see anything wrong with that if you don't. How... uh... how exactly do you wanna do this?"

"You do it. With Max and me, it is usually me who initiates.", Rachel stated.

"Well, _that_ is no surprise. Fine, may I recommend closing your eyes maybe? That might help your imagination."

Rachel went ahead and closed her eyes, laid down and awaited her counterparts move.

"Remember, just a kiss.", she said as a reminder as she could hear her reflection making its way over.

"Who do you think I am?", it responded.

" _Me_? That's why I'm telling you."

When their perfectly identical lips made contact, Rachel felt the strangest of sensations. It was so much different from what she was used to with Max, but she tried reciprocating regardless. It only lasted a few short moments. She opened her eyes again after the fact, looking her reflection in the eyes. Seeing herself from this up close felt even weirder than the kiss.

"Well, I will say this...", her reflection snickered. "Now I know for a fact that I was a good kisser. Did that give you the answers you wanted?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

"I don't know, it felt so odd. Like I kissed a sister I never had. It's probably still different to Max."

"I never had a sister either, but I know what you mean. No doubt Max feels a little different in that moment. But hey, you have an idea now."

"Thank you.", Rachel said gratefully.

"For what?"

"For being here tonight."

"How do you know I was ever really here to begin with?"

"I don't care if you are real or not. You were here for me and I appreciate that.", Rachel said.

The way Rachel phrased herself sounded familiar to her reflection.

"Like a star in the sky.", it said, giving her a knowing look.

"Who cares if you are dead? You are real to me."

Then, Rachel woke up and was still in bed, her room empty.

That was indeed nothing but a dream, but a nice one for once.

* * *

Max kept tossing and turning at night, having had a hard time finding sleep. The doctors were unable to diagnose her with anything, so they kept her under observation for the time being. Being rudely awakened after what felt like only minutes of sleep when the nurse had come to check on her didn't help though.

Sera seemed to share her plight.

"Can't sleep?", she asked after the nurse had left them alone again.

"Not really."

Max didn't feel like she could share the truth about herself with Sera. The chance that a random stranger could walk in on that particular conversation was just too high and the last thing she wanted was to called a nutcase by the doctors.

"I'm so sorry you guys had to go through all of this over me.", Sera said, sounding ashamed and guilty at once.

"Rachel was unstoppable trying to find you, I want you to know that.", Max said.

"At times I wonder if I deserve that. I have hardly been a part of her life for so many years. I made some pretty stupid mistakes back then, James was right about that, you know?"

"People can change Sera, you are the living proof of it. I do not hold your past actions against you."

"Maybe you are right. But I don't know what's going to happen now, I mean... will you guys stay with Rose?"

"I don't know, I need to talk to Rachel about that... and so many other things. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if she would want to move in with you and Megan the first chance she gets. In fact, I fully expect her to request just that."

"That won't work, that apartment doesn't have enough room for the four of us. Besides, would _you_ even want that?"

"Considering what happened, I think I'm fine with whatever is best for Rachel. She was hurt more than me today. A hell of a lot more. I really don't feel important now."

"Max, you are important. Take it from someone who lost a family once. You can't have just one of you decide everything for both of you."

Sera had a point, but Max felt this didn't apply here.

"I know you mean well and I totally agree with what you are saying. But Rachel and I always look out for each other. She has put her own interest back more than once to benefit me. She never does anything without asking me first anymore and the same goes vice-versa. I'd say we fairly well balanced."

"That is good to hear that she cares so deeply about you."

"I love her, I really do. So much so, that I feel that I need her as much as she needs me. I cannot ignore how she feels after this day. If she wants out of that house, then I won't stop her."

"Isn't that the point of a marriage? To depend on another that is?"

"It is, but its more complicated than that in our case. It's a long story."

Max didn't feel that it was right to tell her about Rachel's suicide attempts without her approval first. Besides, Sera had been through enough already for the time being to be burdened with her daughter's actions.

"You two really are something. I knew there was something special to you as soon as I saw you turn around the corner that day.", Sera remarked.

"I don't feel special."

"You are humble too."

"No offense, but you are starting to sound like your daughter.", Max pointed out.

"I take that as a compliment. She chose her partner well, that's all I'm saying."

Max felt a little better hearing that she had earned Sera's approval.

"She can be a handful. She is rage-incarnate when things go wrong, she plays pranks and tricks on you when you don't pay attention and she makes even worse puns than me. That and she is completely and utterly full of herself. But for some reason I love every single one of those qualities in her... well, with the exception of her anger. At one point she was about to smash one of your glass bowls when she realized you weren't home."

"What happened?"

"She stopped herself. I told her about a mental exercise that had always helped me. I guess either that or me yelling did it."

"I'm happy to hear you have a good influence on her. Now, let's try to sleep. We both need it."

Max attempted to do so, but her mind was so occupied with the events of the day that it took her a while until she had finally drifted off. Tomorrow, more than anything, she wanted a talk with her wife.


	43. Crossroads

Rachel woke up on time but realized quickly to her dismay that her bed had remained empty and that Max was not there. The silence that had hung over the house all night was still present, with the only audible sounds coming from the outside as birds could be heard chirping away happily. At least they were in a good mood.

Rachel was still a mess. She felt absolutely zero drive to get out of bed this morning. She grabbed her phone and noticed a message on it, it was from Joyce.

 _"We heard about what happened last night. It's perfectly fine if you wish to take the rest of the week off, we got you covered. Our most sincere condolences to your loss. William and I wish you strength in these troubled times."_

Rachel didn't know how they knew about the events of the previous day but had a feeling that Max was involved. She replied back.

 _"I think I will take you up on that offer, I don't feel well. Thank you for your kind words."_

After a moment, she received a reply.

 _"By the way, it's going to be a girl!"_

With all the darkness that clouded her mind, this was good news indeed. For a moment, she felt happy for Joyce.

 _"Did you decide on a name yet?"_

 _"We agreed to go with "Destiny"."_

Wasn't that irony? Destiny Price. A little girl who wouldn't have lived if it weren't for Max's intervention in time.

Rachel now had the day to herself, that is until Max would be released from the hospital. She was about to text her about any news when Max beat her to the punch.

 _"Hey, checking in on how you are doing. Sera says she loves you too, by the way."_

 _"I'm miserable. Got the week off work but now I don't know what to do with myself until you get here."_

 _"I know Megan should be home. I'm sure she would appreciate your company."_

 _"You know what? That's not the worst idea."_

 _"I will be home today, they said I will be released around 3 PM."_

 _"Thanks for letting me know, I will be there to pick you up."_

 _"Can't wait to see you."_

 _"Same."_

With her phone back in her pocket, Rachel dressed, making sure to grab Chloe's beanie and necklace and made her way downstairs. Nobody was home.

She fixed herself a basic breakfast, wanting to eat only because of hunger, not from appetite. She hadn't eaten anything for a while now and her body reminded her of that fact mercilessly.

Deciding to pay Megan a surprise visit, she grabbed the keys to the truck, hopped inside and drove off.

* * *

Having arrived at the apartment complex once again, Rachel made her way upstairs. It was only recently that she had been here, yet so much had happened since.

She knocked on the door and after a moment of waiting in the hallway, the door opened up.

"Rach?, I didn't expect you here.", Megan said once she realized who came to visit her.

"Hey, Megan, mind if I come in?"

"Go right ahead."

Inside, Rachel took a seat on the couch.

"Anything I can get ya?", Megan asked her.

"I'm good for now, thanks.", she replied.

Megan sat down across the table from her.

"Yesterday was fucked up, I cannot believe what happened to you guys.", Megan said, who had been told the story the night before at the hospital.

"Those damn Prescotts. Joyce was right, this town _is_ cursed!", Rachel fumed.

"I wonder what's going to happen now that Sean Prescott has been pronounced dead.", Megan said.

"Bound to be all over the news I'd think."

"Good point, let me see if it made today's paper."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you read one of those. You used to not care about what happened in the world."

Megan brought the newspaper for the day from the kitchen.

"Nothing wrong with being informed about what's happening nearby. Let's see here... ah, found it. It's the headline alright."

"May I see?"

Megan handed Rachel the paper and she read it out loud.

"Sean Prescott and security found dead near the junkyard! The three men were found this morning by local police. The cause of death seemed to be indicative of a vicious animal attack, most likely that of a flock of birds. This strange occurrence is baffling animal experts and investigators alike, as previous incidents of this kind had not been recorded in the history of Arcadia Bay. Fearing that perhaps some kind of disease could be responsible for this animal behavior, citizens are encouraged to keep a safe distance from any bird or other animals that may be suffering from some kind of unusual condition for the time being. Mr. Prescott was widely known as an influential businessman whose work greatly shaped the town as we know it today."

"No fucking shit.", Megan interjected upon hearing this.

"Yeah, for real. They might as well have written "Sean was the rich fuckwad that everyone knows had ruined this town.", Rachel said in agreement. She then continued reading.

"The Future of the Prescott Foundation is currently in question. With Mr. Prescott dead and his only son Nathan Prescott currently in county jail, it is doubtful as to what the long-term consequences for the company will be. Mrs. Caroline Prescott, the temporary CEO of the foundation, was not available for comment."

Rachel then put the newspaper down.

"Well... shit.", Rachel said after reading the article.

"Yup, the head is off but the beast is still alive.", Megan pointed out.

It was true. Sean Prescott was dead, but his family's grip on this town wasn't about to become any less tight, that much Rachel knew for sure. She remained a pondering stare for a while.

"I know we haven't really talked much since she the old days when we used to rock out, but I am worried about you.", Megan said, now with a lot more serious tone.

"I'm fine."

"You are not, you are kidding yourself if you think that way."

"I said I was FINE!", she shouted, immediately regretting doing so. Megan didn't seem to be surprised in the least but remained quiet.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, I didn't mean to. I'm just... I want Max!", Rachel uttered, her face buried in her hands.

"You two didn't get to speak much after yesterday, it's quite understandable."

"Was there ever someone in your life you really cared about?", Rachel asked Megan.

"Well... not really. I had a few friends, one of which I'm looking at right now. But no boyfriend yet if that's what you mean. No serious ones anyway."

"Do I know any of your other friends?"

"Unlikely, most of them aren't around much anymore. I still hang out with Kat... I'm sorry, _Kate_ every now and then. Well, and there is Justin if you know him."

"Of course, figures you and that skater boy would get along."

"There was another one but I haven't seen her in forever. She never even answered my postcard I sent her after the accident."

"Accident?"

"Yeah, car accident. Poor thing was paralyzed from the neck down."

This started to sound all too familiar to Rachel.

"Wait... was this Chloe Price by any chance?", she asked.

"Yeah, that's her. You know her too? She never mentioned you back then."

"It's a long story, but yes I know her. We met right before... she died."

"She died?! When?!", Megan asked, completely taken aback.

"Almost a year ago, the same day that big tornado happened. Her body just gave in."

"That... goddamnit! I was planning on calling her up, I felt so bad for not having spoken to her ever since I got booted from school. I didn't think her condition was _that_ terrible!"

"You aren't the only one who wished to have spent more time with her. Get in line."

"How did you know her?"

"Through Max. One day, Max decided that she wanted to meet her old childhood friend again and I tagged along out of curiosity. Then I got super mad, thinking that I was being replaced as Max's girlfriend before my very eyes when I saw them talking like the world was going to end. Little did I know how little time Chloe had left and that a big fucking storm was on the way."

"You felt threatened by a girl in a wheelchair?"

"I did. I could tell that she and Max went far back. At the time I had no idea just what their bond was. Max never meant to betray me, she just wanted to be there for a friend and that's when I put her through hell for it. I wish I hadn't. Max deserved so much better than that and I was being an irrational bitch for no damn good reason."

"Hindsight is the real bitch here.", Megan remarked.

"Maybe. At the time I felt justified for every method of interrogation and accusation that I had used against her. I never saw her so terrified of me before and I hope that I will never see her face like that ever again. She shouldn't be afraid of me."

"Look at the bright side, you got married, had an awesome honeymoon from what I heard and you rid Arcadia Bay of a killer. I'd say you could do worse."

"We had a lot of good times, yes. Almost makes up for yesterday. Almost..."

"I'm just glad it's over. You two deserve a break, maybe a vacation?"

"We can't just go on a vacation whenever we please. I got a job now and Max is still going to school."

"If you could, where would you go?"

Rachel thought about this. They had done the Caribbean, but she remembered many other places that Max and she wanted to see.

"If money and time were available, maybe an American road trip? Visit Europe?"

"Europe? Like where?"

"I don't know, England or Germany maybe. I'm open to Max's input on that."

"You better brush up on your German then, assuming you know any of it before going there."

"Ich kann Deutsch, du Witzbold."

Megan clearly had no idea what Rachel just said.

"The hell did you just say to me?"

"I said that I can speak German, you goofball."

"I forgot how versatile you language pallet is. I wish I had a talent for other languages too."

"Well, you know what the French say... c'est la vie."

"Your mood seems to have improved.", Megan realized.

"I do feel a bit better. But I cannot truly be at peace until I speak to Max."

"I know, but I appreciate you came to me. We need to hang out more."

"I don't hold your breath on that, Max and I will be leaving this place at some point, sooner than you might think. I didn't mean to be rude, I just don't want you to get your hopes up."

"Where is it that you are planning to go?"

Rachel told Megan all about the job offer she had received and where this would take her.

"New York City? Holy shit!", Megan exclaimed.

"That's the place."

"Well... I guess that means you won't ever come back here huh?"

Rachel had actually not thought about that. She always knew that she wanted to leave. But returning here?

"I don't know, to be honest."

"To be fair, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. This place sucks, with or without Sean Prescott. By the way, are you hungry yet? I haven't really planned any lunch though. Usually, Sera is the one cooking around here."

"I could use a bite."

"Cool, I will whip us something up."

"Actually...", Rachel started saying to stop Megan from getting up. "How about we cook together? I know a few tricks that I can teach you."

"I didn't know you were a chef."

"I'm not, but I know my way around a kitchen, just ask Max, she can vouch for me."

They spent almost an hour in the kitchen, with Rachel sharing some of her knowledge with her friend. She could have easily just remained seated and had herself be tended to, but considering she didn't know how often she and Megan would be able to hang out anymore, she preferred a more social approach. At the end of it, they created a basic, yet inviting looking pasta dish.

"I know who I'm calling when I want Italian food in the future.", Megan said after they had finished eating.

"Thanks, I try.", Rachel said humbly.

She then checked the time.

"Megan, I hate to cut this short, but I gotta go. Max will be released from the hospital soon and I don't want to risk keeping her waiting."

"Of course. Be sure to say hello to her from me."

"I will. Thank you for the food and also for being there for me."

"Don't sweat it. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks, see you around my friend."

"Take care."

After a hug, Rachel left the apartment behind and made her way to the truck. Now, it was finally time to get Max and go home.

* * *

Later on, Rachel accompanied Max out of the hospital after checking in on Sera. Her mother was doing better, but her body was still in a state of recovery and still required the use of intravenous feeding.

Walking to the car, Rachel insisted on holding Max's hand firmly.

"We have to talk.", she said.

"I know, a lot has happened since we had a quiet moment together.", Max pointed out. "Where do you wanna do this?"

"Let's get you home first."

"Agreed."

They sat down in the truck, with Rachel quickly realizing that there was one thing she wasn't going to wait for.

"What is it?", Max asked, noticing her hesitation to start driving.

Rachel wasted neither words nor time and gave Max a long and passionate kiss.

"I owed you that one... and many more yet.", Rachel said who only then proceeded to drive them to the Amber residence.

"How are you holding up now?", she asked.

"Still a bit weak, but they said it should pass. I got extra pain medication in case my headaches return, but for now, I think I'm fine. How about you?", Max asked in return.

"You will know all about me when we get home. I might be fine physically, but yesterday took a toll on me in other ways."

"I'm so sorry about James."

"Don't even start with that. I don't want to cry all over again and I do not blame you for what happened."

Rachel didn't say this, but she had to fight against her tears constantly, putting on a brave face instead. She didn't know how much longer this facade was going to hold.

* * *

At the house, which was still empty, they made their way to their room and sat on the bed.

"Max, tell me. How did you get your powers back? And when? And how the fuck did you get out of that bunker?", Rachel demanded to know.

"I'm not entirely sure on when my powers returned, all I know is that when we got separated, David tried to get the door open but couldn't. In desperation, I eventually attempted a rewind which worked, much to my surprise. I managed to rewind just enough to get out of the door before it had shut, which took several attempts. On the way out, the damn gas almost got me."

"What about me and my dad?"

"I couldn't help you. By the time you guys had hit the floor and I got out, I already saw Prescott's men coming for us. They must have expected us. I think they may have seen David looking around in the morning on hidden cameras, expecting further company."

"So we walked right into a trap..."

"I believe we did."

"Fuck! I knew it, it's all my fault!"

"Rachel, don't blame yourself for this. You followed your heart when you decided to look for Sera. She could be dead by now otherwise."

"Still... well anyway, what happened then?"

"I had to watch those assholes carry you and James away. They were armed too, so I had no option there. One of them put in the new code into the keypad for the door and I managed to peek and remember it. After I had waited a moment for them to leave, I snuck down and got David and Sera out. Be glad you didn't see her cell... if that's even a name for it."

"Tell me about it."

"If you insist. The whole room was nothing but reinforced steel, no windows, just a vent and a door that could only be opened from the outside and nothing else. It was meant to kill people... and it has. The door had scratch marks and dried blood all over it."

This horrifying description made Rachel feel all the more satisfied over Sean Prescott's death. Good riddance.

"You got Sera out, that's all that matters.", she said.

"I did. I had David drive her to the hospital immediately. I was forced to look for you on foot. I did see the direction you guys were headed and the junkyard seemed like a likely destination, so I went there.", Max continued.

"You _walked_ all the way from the barn to the junkyard?! Jesus, Max, those are miles apart!"

"That's where my powers helped again. By constantly rewinding, I hoped that I had managed to buy myself the extra time I needed. It's why I developed that nasty nosebleed and headaches. I lost count of how many times I had to do it. On top of running like the devil, that exhausted me very quickly. But I had to keep going, you needed me!"

"Fucking hell Max...!"

"Then I found you by the train tracks, about to get struck by the oncoming train. I had no strength left at that point, I couldn't even walk up to you anymore. But at least I gave you the time to save yourself."

Rachel was simply awestruck at this point and had no words.

"Rachel... why? Why did you do that?", Max ended up asking.

It was this point that Rachel couldn't take it anymore and let her tears flow freely.

"Because I thought you were dead! That Prescott fucker told me so. He probably assumed you were still in his bunker, left for dead but I didn't know any better. I just wanted to be with you, no matter the cost. I thought everyone was gone and I felt like I didn't belong in this world anymore."

"What did he do? What exactly happened?", Max asked with a shaky voice, trying to keep her own composure.

"When I woke up, he berated my dad for actually doing his job and putting Nathan in jail and then had him shot dead right in front of me. I still remember his body falling like it was in slow motion..."

Max was utterly shocked but kept listening.

"Then, that fucker told me that you and Sera were dead and that I was next. But I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I unleashed my full power on him and his goons. It's why that thunderstorm was raging. I don't remember what happened then, but I have a theory. I believe that what the birds had been trying to tell me this whole time was that I would need them. I must have called them to my aid, for Prescott and his lackeys were just a puddle of blood and guts by the time I regained consciousness. I'm pretty sure I didn't do that by myself and I saw black raven feathers all over the place."

"So that was the purpose of your power. Do you still have it?"

"I don't know, I have been plenty depressed but I haven't gotten mad enough to find out yet."

"And then you tried to kill yourself..."

"I did."

Max spread her arms out, waiting for her partner to embrace, which she did all too willingly.

"Max... I'm so sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being fast enough to help James."

"Max, you almost killed yourself just getting there, you have earned your wings... several times over."

After reluctantly letting go, Max stared Rachel straight into the eyes.

"Rachel, you have to promise me something.", she said.

"What is it?", Rachel asked sobbing.

"Don't ever, under _any_ circumstances, do that again. I do not want to see that image a second time."

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"Rachel... if I ever die, no matter how or why I insist that you stay alive.", Max said intently, holding on to both of Rachel's hands firmly. "This whole universe might only exist because of me, but I don't want your life to end when mine does."

"But... what am I without you?

"The strongest person I have ever known. I knew that from the moment I ran into you. You had an aura that was unlike anything I have ever seen. Do not throw that away, not over me."

"I'm not invincible, Max. I have weaknesses too. One reason I am as strong as you claim to be is you. You taught me things no one else could, helped me with my problems no matter how big or small they were. You are my rock. I cannot imagine life without you!"

"I really, really don't wanna say this but... how about this, if you don't want to do it for me, then do it for Chloe."

"Chloe?"

"Yes. My best friend. Neither universe or timeline or whatever you want to call it had both of you alive at this point. She is dead because I made a choice that I wasn't aware of when I saved William that day. I cannot undo that anymore and you know this. She died so you and her dad could live. Those are the facts I'm afraid."

"That had occurred to me, but I was too scared to say it. I felt that I wasn't in the right to say that."

"I know, that's why I never brought this up either, until now."

"So... what do you want me to do if that happens?"

"I want you to move on. Find someone else. Live your life to the fullest. Can you do that for me? For Chloe?"

Rachel slowly nodded in response.

"Max, there is something else we need to discuss as well.", Rachel said.

"I have a feeling what you are talking about, but go on."

"I cannot live in this place anymore."

"You want to move in with Sera, don't you?"

"No, Max... I want to leave Arcadia Bay entirely. As soon as possible. I want to get to New York and start over. I need a fresh start and leave all of this behind me. I have been a prisoner of this god-forsaken town and I cannot stomach it any longer! They talk about the death of that monster like he was the pope but write not as much as a footnote about my dad. Besides, even with Sean Prescott dead, his family still represents a danger to us, now more than ever."

"But we agreed we would leave next year after I graduate didn't we?"

"We did, but Max, that was before this clusterfuck of events happened. I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot wait any longer. As soon as my dad's funeral is over, I will accept my job offer."

"Rachel, we can't just leave here."

"Why not? Tell me any reasons as to why not?!"

"I haven't finished school yet, for one."

"New York has more high schools than you could ever visit, that should be the least of our problems. We will transfer you."

"Fine, what about your mom? Are you willing to leave Sera behind?"

This remark did hurt Rachel deep down, but her answer was resolute.

"I have lived most of my life without her. I am eternally grateful that I got to meet and know her, but if that's what it takes to finally break this curse and move on... then yes, I am."

Max had run out of arguments and Rachel was aware of this.

"Then I got nothing. But answer me one question.", she ended up saying.

"Ask your question."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"Max... yes you do. This is what I want and perhaps even need. But at the end of the day, I do not wish to force you into this. A part of me wanted to give you an ultimatum, but that would be wrong of me. If you want to stay here then so will I."

Rachel anxiously awaited Max's next words. They would decide both of their futures, that much she knew.

"Then its agreed."

"Wait... what?"

"I wanted to hear what you would say to that question first before I would answer you."

"Why?"

"It's about something your mom said. Thank you for proving her wrong."

"So you mean it? We are going to move to New York?"

"We are."

Like a pouncing lion, Rachel literally jumped on Max, pushing her over and down on the bed. She was shaking like a leaf in a storm, crying tears of joy and relief, holding her wife close. She never wanted to let go anymore.


	44. We'll Always Have Arcadia Bay (FINALE)

Rachel and Max spent quite some time preparing for their move. Following a funeral for James, which was harder on Rachel than Max had anticipated, their departure was only two days away. Max in particular started feeling rather anxious about it. They had gone out for a nice dinner together, to enjoy each other's company as a means of distraction. The drive itself would take them several days and they would have to take separate cars.

Sitting by the light of candles after eating, Max's mind was racing. She knew that this is what Rachel wanted, but it wasn't going to be an easy task.

"I guess you got your wish. This is going to be a long ass road trip.", she remarked. "Plus we have to cram all our stuff into those two cars."

"I checked, everything should fit, even if barely. I will not need furniture anyway, so that alone means we only need our essentials and personal items.", Rachel said.

"By the way, how did Joyce react when you quit your job at the Two Whales?"

"She was a bit torn. She is very happy for us, but she says that they will miss us."

"I will miss them too..."

"I kinda feel bad for not being here when Destiny arrives."

"Who?"

"Did... did I forget to tell you about this? I'm so sorry! I'm talking about Destiny, Joyce's child."

"Destiny? Joyce is having a girl?"

"She sure is. I knew since the day you got out of the hospital. Again, sorry that this slipped my mind."

"I do admit I would love to see her one day."

"We can always visit. Just don't expect me to live here anymore."

"I'm not. Not in the least."

Max could tell that Rachel was reading her expression.

"Max, are you alright? Is something wrong? I mean other than the obvious?"

"I... I'm just anxious is all. This is the biggest thing I have ever done. It's a big deal. I know it is for the better but that doesn't make it any easier."

Rachel gently laid her hand upon Max's.

"We will be ok, you will see. Together, there's nothing we can't do."

This did put a smile on her face.

"I can never thank you enough for the confidence that you give me."

"Let me quote you from that one time, I'm just doing my job. I do take being your wife seriously, you know?"

"I know you do, you always have. It just feels weird to leave here after all this time. We had rough times but also good ones. I will miss this place."

"We'll always have our memories, Max."

"I want to do something before we leave the day after tomorrow. It's a bit last minute but I feel I need to do this."

"What do you have in mind dear?"

"Let's throw a party. Invite all our friends for one last get-together. I don't wanna go to everyone one at a time or just disappear without saying anything."

Rachel's eyes betrayed the fact that she had not expected to hear this.

"Did I hear you correctly? Did Max Amber just suggest that we host a _party_?"

"I guess so. I did like the birthday party you organized for me, I wouldn't mind something similar to that."

"I will let everyone know. This would have to be tomorrow though and we would have to do packing beforehand."

"We can handle that I think. I hope everyone can make it."

"You and me both."

On the way home for the evening, Rachel got started informing potential guests via text. They had gotten a few replies by the time they got home.

"Looks like our favorite lovebirds Brooke and Warren will make it, as well as Megan.", Rachel told Max on the way into the house.

"That's a start. I hope your mom can make it, she should be out of the hospital by now right?", Max inquired.

"She is, I should get a reply soon. Got anyone else in mind to invite?"

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but can we invite Victoria?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow in reaction.

"That is indeed unexpected... then again, you guys did get along fairly well from what you told me. Fine, I think I still have her number... somewhere."

* * *

Inside, Rose was sitting by herself, eating dinner when they arrived.

"Hey, Rose.", Rachel greeted.

"Hi, girls. Did you have a nice evening?", she asked. Her tone was very depressed sounding still. Max wished she would have known some way to cheer her up, but realized that little more than time could heal the wound she had sustained when James was taken from her.

"We did. Is there anything we can do for you?", Max asked, having noticed that the place was in a rather untidy state. Most glaringly, a fairly large pile of dirty dishes had accumulated over time and had yet to be cleaned.

"If you'd like to help, I would appreciate that."

"Of course, I will get started right away."

Max did indeed not waste any time and got to work, rinsing and cleaning every plate, fork, and knife by hand. Rachel got a broom out of the closet and proceeded to clean the floor that was in need of some attention as well. At least this way they could show Rose that they cared, even if they were about to leave town very soon.

They informed Rose about the party they were planning, which was met with approval before they headed upstairs.

"My hands look like those from the creature from the black lagoon.", Max complained.

"That's what happens when you do the dishes. In fact, you might be subjected to that a lot more in the future.", Rachel pointed out.

"How so?"

"Well, I will be working hella long hours, Max. I don't know what my schedule will be like, but actors tend to spend _a lot_ of time at work. The bulk of the housework might be on you, sorry."

"I suspected as much. But I can handle that."

"It's not like I'm not gonna pull my weight, but I may not always be around to help."

"I know, that occurred to me too."

"Oh, guess what? Victoria is coming. Megan just replied too."

"I thought Megan had already agreed to come?"

"She did, but now she has a request."

"A request?"

"She wants to bring a surprise guest, she doesn't wanna say who though obviously."

"Well... I trust her good judgment. Tell her it's ok."

"Gotcha. I do wonder who that is. I'm gonna laugh if it's Justin."

"I'm gonna get started packing."

"I think I will join in on that."

* * *

Three hours later they had finally packed everything but their daily essentials. With all their personal belongings in duffle bags and suitcases, the room seemed strangely empty. Max checked the time.

"Dude, it's 9:30 PM already."

"A bit late, but hey, we are ready for our trip!"

"Remind me to pack a couple of food and drink bags before we leave. We can stop for food along the way, but seeing how we will spend over 40 hours driving, we better have some on us at all times.", Max said.

"Wise choice, Maxter.", Rachel commended her.

"Aw."

"What?"

"You haven't called me that in forever it feels."

"I know... I just haven't felt very good lately. But seeing our plans come to fruition does help me a lot to cheer up. That was nice what you did for Rose, by the way, I think I speak for both of us if I say it's appreciated."

"I feel bad for her. Once we are gone, she will be all alone."

"Yeah... I know. But there is nothing we can do for her, except to make sure she's ok while we are still around."

"You are right."

"Did you pack our movies already?"

"All but one actually."

"All but one? What do you mean?"

"It's a little... surprise that I had planned for you."

"Max... what did you do?"

"Check under your pillow."

She saw Rachel doing just so and she pulled out a movie from it.

"You got me "Back To The Future"?!", Rachel exclaimed.

"I did. Seeing how you took your sweet _time_ getting that yourself and it would have ended up taking you like... _forever_. So I figured it was way _overdue_ that someone would get you that as _soon_ as possible."

Rachel gave Max a glare.

"Are you being smart with me, Maxter?"

"Maybe..."

"Oh you better watch out, I know where you sleep tonight."

"Are kicking me out of bed for my puns?"

"Your punishment remains to be seen...", Rachel said with her fiendish trademark grin.

She then examined the movie that she had been gifted.

"Thank you for this one. I take it you'd like for us to watch it tonight?"

"I would love to."

"Let's do it."

A little over two hours later, Max noticed that Rachel's face had lit up a bit. She was clearly on her way to feeling better again. Hopefully, this would last. They spent some time talking about the movie now.

"I cannot imagine going back 30 years into the past. Ironically... that would take us more or less to the time this movie was made.", Rachel realized.

"If we told people from 1984 about the world of today, do you think they would believe us?"

"You mean that we would have phones with more processing power than their supercomputers that fit into a pocket or that couples like us can marry? Yeah, they would declare us insane alright."

"The sequel takes place in 2015, doesn't it? That's next year."

"Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble Max, but I don't think we will have flying cars by then. Also, the fashion style of the future seemed too crazy even for me. Yuck!"

"You'd know. Oh well. I'm gonna take a shower, be back in a little while."

"Have fun."

The way Rachel seemed to have suppressed a giggle when she said that made Max weary. She was up to something again.

For now, she simply went ahead and took her shower, having left a pile of new clothing ready to put on afterward. After she had finished and dried herself with a towel she meant to put on them on, only to find something missing. She was pretty sure that she hadn't forgotten anything when she came in here though. There was only one possibility.

With an incomplete set of clothing, she made her way to their room to confront her most suspected thief.

"Rachel Dawn Amber, up to your old tricks again I see!"

"I have no clue what you are talking about.", she said, feinting innocence while sitting on the bed.

"You took my damn bra!", Max accused her.

"Oh, so that was _yours_? Yeah, some doofus left theirs lying around in the open for everyone to grab and I figured it's always good to have a backup on hand. And wouldn't you know it? It fits too!"

"Wait... you did not...ok, that does it!"

Max took the direct approach, stormed towards Rachel who went into a defensive posture but Max wouldn't relent. She took hold of Rachel's shirt and tried to pull it off of her, who was just giggling her proverbial head off at this point at Max's expense.

"You little snake, you totally put it on!", Max said, now with Rachel's shirt in her hand.

"I stand guilty as charged. But, I refuse to give it up."

Max realized she had fallen for Rachel's game, which had only one possible outcome. She knew she played right into her hands, but she was more than fine with it. She understood how Rachel worked by now. This was no mean trick, it was teasing the way Rachel liked it and a means of bonding at the same time.

"Well? What are you going to do?", Rachel challenged her.

"I will just take it back from you."

"Pervert!"

"Says the cougar who likes girls younger than herself and goes around stealing their underwear!"

Rachel did put up a brief struggle, but it seemed that she eventually allowed Max to overpower her and she managed to retrieve her bra.

"Well, this is awkward.", Rachel remarked.

"You know, the funny thing is that I know exactly why you do this.", Max claimed.

"Oh, you do?"

"You are pretty obvious, no offense."

"I never claimed to be anything else."

"Uh-huh."

Having disposed of most of her own clothing, Max now joined her partner in bed.

"It's been a while it feels.", she remarked, gently caressing her wife's checks.

"It has. Don't you dare go anywhere now.", Rachel replied with longing eyes.

"You know I won't."

They laid close, feeling each other's warmth. The ensuing kiss and everything that followed was the best thing Max had felt in what seemed like forever. Due to recent events, neither of them had been feeling particularly romantic as of late, but at this point, it seemed like the best time to change that. This night ended up providing both of them with the best sleep that they had in a while as well.

* * *

When the morning came, they went over everything one more time. Planning their trip, making sure they had all they needed and Rachel confirmed their apartment address with her new employer. They were as ready as they would ever be.

"The party starts at 2 PM. We still got some time until then.", Rachel remarked.

"Did Joyce ever reply to you about the party?", Max inquired.

"Both her and William are coming, no worries, I double-checked with them."

"Good. There is one place I need to go."

Rachel's look made it obvious that she knew what she meant.

"I understand. In fact, I was waiting for this moment."

"You did? Why?"

"You plan on visiting Chloe's grave one more time, don't you?"

Rachel was correct. Max's expression probably gave that away.

"Max, I know this is probably weird of me to ask and if you feel that it is not my place to, then please tell me so. I humbly request to accompany you."

"You want to see her too? Why?"

"Her and my counterpart were something special once. I feel that I owe it to her to say goodbye. But again, if you wish to go alone, then I would understand. I know I'm asking for a lot with this. What you two had was something deep and personal."

Max saw no reason to deny Rachel's request, her respect for the friendship that she and Chloe had once shared was most welcome nonetheless.

"I would love for you to come, but excuse me if I get emotional."

"You know I don't judge you, Max. I might have done so once in error, but what happened that time will not repeat today. I promise."

On the way to the cemetery, they stopped to get some flowers for Chloe's grave. Once there, they made their way hand-in-hand past several lines of headstones, before arriving at Chloe's resting place.

Max wanted to take her turn first and looked at Rachel who nodded knowingly, giving her the space she needed, but remaining in earshot.

Max stepped forward slowly, placing the flowers upon the grave.

"Hey, old friend. I came to say goodbye to you. Rachel and I will be leaving soon and I didn't want to leave you again without a proper farewell. I don't know if you can hear me now or if I'm just out here talking to myself. Chloe, I hope that wherever you are right now that you are doing well. I wanted to thank you for the amazing childhood years we had together and what little time we spent before I left you again to save your dad. I wish you could be with us... I really do. I know I made a mistake when I stopped talking to you after I left and if there as a single decision in my life that I could change, it would be that one. Nothing I say can ever make up for what I have done that time and I do not expect you to forgive me. I have so many things to tell you, so many memories to share. But I have accepted that I will never again be able to do so. All I ask of you is to wish us the best of luck. I will always hold you dear in my memory and I will keep writing you in my diary. Thank you for everything, Chloe. You were the best friend anyone could ask for. I will see you again someday when my time has come."

Max turned around and moved to give her partner a chance to say something as well, only to notice that Rachel was trying her hardest to not cry from her emotional speech.

After a moment, Rachel had stepped forward to where Max was standing just a moment ago. Max remained standing behind her with the same respectful distance. After a moment of deliberation, Rachel now took her turn speaking.

"Hey, Chloe, it's Rachel. I'm not the exact one you remember, but that doesn't matter right now. You are probably still mad at me for what I have done behind your back and you have all the right to. I've come, not just to say goodbye, but also to say... I'm sorry. I am so sorry for what happened to you and for all my other self has done. You were there for Max long before I ever knew her. A dedicated friend and reliable companion in her time of need. I want to say thank you for looking after her while you still could. I really wish I could express my gratitude to you any better. If only I could have gotten to know you. I promise you that I will take good care of her, seeing how that is the least I can do. I don't know much about you personally, Chloe Price, but you earned my respect and gratitude. I hope that at least one of you is still out there somewhere in another universe and if you are, I hope my words have reached you somehow. Goodbye, Chloe."

What happened next, Max honestly did not expect. Rachel started shedding tears over Chloe. All too vividly could Max remember the death glare that Rachel had originally given Chloe when they had first met here. This Rachel seemed like someone else entirely now.

Max tried her best to comfort her and they remained standing by Chloe's grave for a while longer, with neither of them saying anything. Eventually, Max swallowed her sorrow and decided to move on.

"Rachel... let's go.", she said, reaching out to her.

Rachel slowly and quietly took hold and they made their way out of the cemetery again. Max's heart was in tatters and her steps felt hard to take, but she did not look back. For all she knew, this could have been the last time in her life that she would come here. But she would make sure that Chloe would live on, in both her heart and her memory.

* * *

While driving, Rachel wanted to say something.

"Max, there's something I neglected to mention."

"What's that?"

"I don't know if what I saw was true, but I had another vision. A flashback if you will."

"A flashback?"

"Yes. Back in elementary school, you and Chloe have helped me once."

"We did?"

"Yes. Some bullies took my backpack and you brought it back. Do you remember something like that?"

Max thought long and hard about it.

"It's possible, Chloe and I always looked out for others. You are saying that we have met before?"

"Exactly. You helped me get back up and Chloe gave me my stuff back."

"That is awesome if it's true."

"Well, I'd like to think it is. I can vaguely remember something like that happening, so it's certainly possible."

* * *

The party for Max was about to begin and Rachel was busy getting all the food trays out. A selection of pastries, including cupcakes and brownies as well as plenty of soda and chips were provided for everyone. The house basically turned into sugar heaven.

As soon as the clock struck 2 PM, the first guests started arriving and the doorbell would keep ringing every other minute.

First to arrive were Brooke and Warren.

"Hey guys, glad you made it.", Max exclaimed upon opening the house door for them.

"I wouldn't wanna miss this!", Warren said.

"How are you feeling, Max?", Brooke asked.

"Excited? Nervous? Yeah, that sums it up. Come in, guys."

Shortly after, more guests arrived and Max let them in as well.

"Joyce? William? It's great to see you!", she said, giving both of them a big hug.

"Oh, honey, you have been a big part of our lives, who would we be if we just let you leave without a word?", Joyce said.

"Exactly, you deserve this. Thank you for inviting us.", William said.

Max would have loved to reply with a million words, but she doubted she could ever tell him the truth about what she had done for him.

"Come in, I'm sure Rachel is dying to say hello to you."

Max was actually banking on Rose and the Prices to get to know each other as well. That way, at least she could leave Rose with new friends to talk to after she and Rachel would leave in the morning.

Before Max could even close the door, she saw Victoria walk up to the house.

"Hey, Victoria."

"Hi, Max. I'm glad you guys invited me, I wasn't sure you would in hindsight."

"No hard feelings here, come in."

Moments later, the last remaining guests arrived.

Max saw Sera and Megan walk up to the house. There was someone else with them too, but they were hiding behind them. That must be the surprise guest that Megan had mentioned before.

"Hey guys, I'm happy to see you.", Max said smiling.

"I'm glad to be here. I see everyone else made it already?", Sera remarked.

"They are already inside."

"Hey there, Max.", Megan greeted.

"Hi, Megan. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing alright. There is someone else here who would also like to say something."

Both Sera and Megan walked past Max now, leaving her to meet her unexpected guest alone.

"Kate?!"

Before her stood Kate, still decked out in her punk outfit. She had changed little since their first very unfortunate encounter at the train station over half a year ago. Max was worried and yet, pleasantly surprised at the sight.

"Hi, Max.", she replied, her tone indicative of guilt.

"I didn't think I'd _ever_ see you again.", Max admitted.

"It has come to my attention that I may have been mistaken about you. When we last met I got angry because all I could remember of you was your unwillingness to stop Nathan back when he got me suspended."

"What changed your mind about me?"

"Megan told me what happened to you guys and the Prescotts. I heard Rachel lost her dad and that you were locked up. I suppose you just did the smart thing back then."

"That is true, it happened."

"How can I see you as one of them when they tried to kill you? Like they killed my uncle..."

"They killed your uncle?!", Max said in shock.

"They did, I knew for sure after you uncovered their dark scheme. He was their first victim, as an outspoken critic of the Prescott Foundation."

"Jesus, Kate... I didn't know."

"I can't blame you. I'm just grateful knowing that Sean Prescott won't harm anyone anymore, thanks to you guys. So yeah, I was wrong about you. Sorry that I yelled at you that time. Though I'm still not sure what you meant back then when you said that you had saved my life."

"It's... complicated. I'm just glad to hear you changed your mind. I wouldn't wanna leave here with you as an enemy. I know you and I could be good friends. It's too bad we won't get a chance for it."

"Well, we have today. And it's not like phones don't exist for the future. Now that I'm looking at you without the whole anti-Vortex Club bias, you actually seem like a nice person."

"Thanks, Kate, I will be sure to pass you my number before you leave today. Do you uh... wanna speak with Rachel?"

"Yes, I do owe her an apology too."

"Want me to get her out here?"

"I think I will speak with her inside, if I may I join your party that is?"

"By all means, come on in."

Rachel had indeed not been bearing a grudge against Kate, regardless of what had transpired in the past and they managed to make up as well. Rachel profusely apologized for the way she had charged Kate at the time. Max took plenty of pictures, almost burning through her reserve of film that she had left. At some point, she would need to get more. Surely, that would be easier to find in New York too.

The party was a success. Rose managed to chat with the Prices, which seemed to help her mood somewhat. Rachel taught everyone interested how to play Egyptian Rat Screw and there were some fierce matches going on. After most players had been eliminated, the final combatants were Victoria and Rachel. To everyone's surprise, Victoria managed to snatch the win, leaving her opponent flabbergasted. The overall atmosphere of the party was great up until the late evening when everyone had to leave.

Max insisted on a big group photo and after that, it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Victoria, Warren, and Brooke promised to stay in touch, as did Megan and Kate after Max had given the latter her phone number and email address.

The hardest part for Max was saying goodbye to William and Joyce, however.

"I will miss you guys.", Max said, trying to remain calm.

"We will miss you too honey.", Joyce responded.

The three of them took a group hug.

"You gotta tell me when the little one is born.", Max requested.

"You will be among the first to know, you have our word on that.", William said smiling. He always seemed to remain positive, even in sad moments like this. It's a quality that Max had always admired about him. It was as if nothing could shake his resolve.

"We will tell Destiny all about you.", Joyce said.

"Maybe I get to meet her one day."

"I'm sure you will."

With Joyce near tears, the Prices now left the Amber residence. It wasn't easy for Max, but at the same time, Rachel was going through an even harder moment of her own.

"Mom, I promise I will write and call you.", she said. Unlike Max, Rachel couldn't hold her tears back. It was most unfortunate that Sera could not follow them where they were going.

"I know you will. I will keep you in the loop on what's going on with me too, I promise you.", Sera replied.

Rachel embraced her mother lovingly.

"You will kill in on stage, I know you will."

Rachel looked her mother in the eye.

"Thanks, mom. For everything. I will not let you down!"

"I know you won't. Just remember what you have learned and you will be just fine. Now, be a strong girl and show the world what you can do."

"I will."

Sera looked over at Max for a moment.

"Take good care of her, Max. I entrust my daughter to your care."

"I will do my best.", she replied.

"I love you, mom.", Rachel said sobbing.

"I love you too, sweetie. Until we meet again."

"Goodbye."

With Sera having left, they were alone at the house with Rose now.

"We gotta clean all this up.", Rachel said, still trying to get her composure back.

"I'll do it. You can go upstairs.", Max insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go on, I got this."

Rachel went upstairs, looking dead tired. By the time Max was done tidying up and cleaning, she found her wife already asleep in bed and decided to turn in for the night herself.

* * *

While deep asleep, someone came to visit Rachel one more time.

"You look distressed.", she could hear her counterpart say.

She looked up and found herself in a dream with her reflection from another timeline yet again. At least, that's what she believed. Next to her, she saw an image of Max, sleeping peacefully and completely unaware of what was going on.

"Oh, it's you.", Rachel said.

"Yup, just me.", her reflection replied.

"What brings you here tonight?"

"Just wanted to check in on you. You had a big thing to discuss with her, didn't you? How did that go?"

Rachel told her counterpart everything that they had talked about and planned.

"I see. You really are leaving then."

"I am."

"I... I'm proud of you. Both of you."

"You mean that?"

"I do. You two have gone through a lot in a short amount of time."

Rachel's counterpart examined the image of Max up close now.

"You know, I never saw her like this. Not in life anyway."

"I'm sorry you two never met."

"It would have been interesting, to say the least. I gotta admit, she _is_ cute. I can see how I might have fallen for her instead of Chloe, given the circumstances."

"Can I ask you something?", Rachel said to her counterpart.

"What's that?"

"I kinda feel weird referring to you as just a "reflection" or "mirror image". On the other hand, calling you by my own name is just confusing on top of that."

"Hm... how about our middle name then?"

"Dawn? No one ever called me by that. I wouldn't be surprised if most people didn't know I even had that name."

"Same here, but we can use it between us."

"Alright, Dawn it is then."

"I kinda like the sound of that, to be honest. It's new and yet familiar to me.", Dawn said.

"Well, Dawn, I will be leaving tomorrow."

"You seem concerned about that."

"Of course I am, but I also know it's what I want. However, I am worried I will never dream of you again."

"Wait... you are actually _sad_ about the possibility of never seeing me again?", Dawn said, fairly surprised.

"I think I am. It gave me comfort knowing that there was someone I could talk to even if I was alone."

"Even if that someone is either a dead person's ghost or just something your mind made up?"

"I said it before, you are real to me, no matter what you are. Just promise me to try and show up when I get to New York. I really want to know that you will be there... or if I shouldn't get my hopes up."

Dawn paced about while thinking and eventually came to a dead stop right beside Rachel's bedside.

"I promise you to try, but I cannot guarantee anything."

"I know. If this goodbye, then I want you to know that I no longer hold your past actions against you, nor do I still hold the grudge that I had towards you."

"I figured as much when you asked me to kiss you that one time. Rest assured, I no longer judge you either. But I have one final request in case this our last chance to talk."

"What is it, Dawn?", Rachel asked.

"If and when you get on that stage and the spotlights hit you, I want you to show the world just what it had been missing out on this whole time. Be the star I was never allowed to be and embrace your talent. But make sure not to lose track of this one either. She needs you, Rachel. More than you know if my instinct is correct.", Dawn said, pointing at Max on the bed next to Rachel.

Rachel now beheld the image of her sleeping partner as well.

"She is everything to me. I swear I will do all I can to make sure she will be as happy as she can be."

"Then you got nothing worry about."

"She cannot hear you, can she?", Rachel asked, referring to Max.

"No, this is just in your mind. What you see is just a representation of her. Max cannot interact with us here."

"That's unfortunate, I was hoping I could introduce you somehow."

"An interesting thought, but that's all it is I'm afraid. She and I will never meet."

"Thank you for appearing tonight."

"You are welcome. Sweet dreams. I will see you in New York."

"I hope."

Dawn disappeared again, and Rachel found herself dreaming about the big cruise adventure that she and Max had gone on.

* * *

The morning arrived and with that, the departure from Arcadia Bay. Max and Rachel discussed their plans for the trip one last time. They both got themselves GPS devices and shared a list of planned stops along the way to New York, including the hotels they intended to stay at. Even though the plan was to follow each other best they could, there was a very high chance that they would get separated eventually, seeing how they had to take separate cars. Rachel would drive her car, while Max would take the truck. Everything was set as they headed downstairs to leave. Max's heart was going crazy and her excitement was high. This would be the longest journey she had ever taken in a car. Rose was downstairs and had been waiting to see them off.

"I wish you guys a safe trip. Please call when you get there.", she said.

"We will.", Max said, giving her a hug.

Rachel looked like she had something important to say.

"Rose, I know that things were never the same between us after what happened in the past. But I want to you to know that I appreciate everything you have done for me and for Max too. You were a good mom and... I will miss you."

Max watched as Rachel and her surrogate mother embraced for one last time.

"You were a great gift. Your father would be so proud of you. Please, take good care of yourself."

"Of course, I will."

Slowly and with heavy hearts, they made their way outside.

"I will actually miss this place, I never thought I'd say that.", Rachel admitted.

"Me too."

They quietly put up their bags and moved all their supplies into their cars. They were good to go.

"Max... It's been exactly a year that you have appeared here. Do you have anything to say?"

Max walked up to Rachel, placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Rachel Amber. You are the love of my life. I'm ready to follow you, wherever this road will take us. This year was by far the craziest I have ever experienced, but also the best. I love you."

"Max. You are my rock. You always kept me from making mistakes that I would otherwise regret, even at your own risk. You showed me so much love and care and stood by my side at all times, no matter what. What we are about to do means a lot to me. We will make New York bow. I love you too."

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like for you to kiss me, just like you did back when we met."

Rachel obliged and gave her a long and passionate kiss. Even with all the time that had passed, it never ceased to make Max's insides feel like they were swarming with butterflies.

"How about now? Do you still think this is a nightmare?", Rachel asked afterward.

"No, not anymore."

 **THE END**


	45. Special: Switcheroo!

**Author's Note:**

 _Have you ever wondered what could have possibly happened to the Max from the alternate timeline? Here's a fun little story about just that!_

* * *

It was like a flash of light. Suddenly, Maxine found herself sitting on a bed. Caught off guard and utterly confused, she looked around.

This resembled her dorm room, but it was way different. She was just outside, why was she suddenly here? Looking down at herself, she realized that she was wearing entirely different clothes and she knew exactly whose they were: They were Rachel's. There was no doubt about it.

"Rachel you snake... what prank did you pull this time?", she said out loud to herself.

If this was was her dorm room, then someone had done some serious redecorating. Her favorite posters and fashion magazines were gone and the wall was covered in photographs. She didn't recognize any of them at a glance, but some did show her in the pictures. How could this be? She doesn't remember these being taken!

She got up and walked over to the closet and opened it up.

"What the fuck?! Where is my stuff?!", she exclaimed.

All her beloved designer clothes had been removed and instead, the same boring grey hoodie was in there several times over with just as boring and uniform sets of blue jeans. There's no way she could wear that! There also was a box of cookies, apparently from her mother. When did she get those? Last she checked, her mom got angry with her over her spending all of her money. Why the gift out of the sudden? And why couldn't she remember getting this?

She went and turned on her laptop, to check her social media profile. Whoever put her up to this probably got their hands on her profile too, but she couldn't even get that far. The computer refused to acknowledge her password. It had been hacked!

"Alright, Maxine, don't freak out, there has got to be a reason for all of this."

Maybe Victoria had an idea of what was going? Assuming she wasn't a part of this setup. Maxine didn't think that possible though, her friend knew better than that.

* * *

She left her room and went straight to Victoria's room and knocked.

After a moment, the door opened, she was home.

Before Victoria could say a word, Maxine had gone inside.

"Victoria, you better tell me what the hell is going on. Where is Rachel and all of my stuff?"

Victoria was taken by surprise.

"Uh... what do you think you are doing here, Max? What? Did you think we were friends now and that you can just come in here as you please?", she said in a hostile tone.

"What did you just say to me?"

"Get out before Nathan gets here and makes you regret ever stepping foot in here!"

"Why are you behaving like a bitch today? And I ask again, where is Rachel at?"

"Nobody cares where that slut is, and why should they? Now _get out_!"

Having the door shut in her face after Victoria had man-handled her back outside left Maxine flabbergasted.

"What the fuck is her deal?!", she muttered to herself.

Maxine pulled out her phone to contact Rachel, only to find that locked as well. Her passcode didn't work anymore. Someone did more than just hack her laptop, they did the same with her phone! Now what?

"Max, are you ok?", someone said next to her, causing Maxine to turn around.

"Ah, Alyssa. Did you come to throw more toilet paper at me?", Maxine sneered.

"Uh... what? No, I wanted to thank you for looking out for me.", Alyssa said.

"Ok... anyway, you don't happen to know where I could find Rachel do you?"

"Rachel Amber?"

"Duh, who else?"

"Well... no. She is missing still. If I knew I would have told you already."

"Missing?!"

"Yes, she's been missing for months."

"Ok, now I know you are full of shit. Stop it with the teasing and tell me where she is!"

"I swear, I don't know!"

"You are all in on this aren't you? Rachel must be so proud of your acting performance. Now excuse me, I need some air and find that joker."

* * *

Maxine stormed off and left the girls dorm, wandering into the open courtyard of Blackwell Academy. She didn't get far though.

"Max, there you are, our hero!"

She turned to see Warren Graham who approached her. Getting way too close for comfort.

"Warren is it? Call me Maxine if you want to talk to me."

"Of course it's me! Since when do you go by Maxine? I thought you hated being called that."

"No... it's how I _always_ preferred to be called. "Max" sounds like a boys name, ugh!"

"Well... ok. I was just seeing if you had any interest left in that Planet of The Apes marathon after all."

"The what now? You never spoke to me before, dude."

"The drive-in theater remember?"

Was Warren seriously asking her on a date when all of the school should have known by now that Maxine was happily involved with Rachel?

"Warren, let me put this as nice as I can. _I_ am taken, _you_ are taken and I'm _not_ into boys, sorry."

"Wait a minute, you are taken? Since when?!"

"For years, since before I came here."

"But you never mentioned any of this before!"

"I'm with Rachel, in case you somehow missed that."

"Wow, wow, wow, back the truck up! You are telling that not only have you been a lesbian this whole time but you were with Rachel freaking Amber? And you say I'm taken? I'm not!", Warren said with a horrified expression on his face.

"Could've fooled me when I saw you smooching with Stella the other day. As for me, girls can be into girls dude, welcome to the 21st century. Now I gotta go find my lover. Excuse me."

"Good luck with that... jeez. Guess I am stuck in the friend zone after all."

Going further into the schoolyard, there would have to be someone who could tell her where Rachel was. She spotted a teacher standing around with his back to her talking to a student. She didn't recognize him at first. Maybe he was new to Blackwell?

"Excuse me?", she said, trying to get his attention.

"Oh, Ms. Caulfield. What can I do for you?", he responded.

Maxine recognized him. It was Mr. Jefferson, wearing a really nice looking suit. A strong contrast to the janitor outfit he usually sported.

"I'm looking for Rachel Amber."

"Aren't we all?", he responded.

"Huh?"

"Anyway, I don't suppose you've come to finally turn in your entry to the Everyday Heroes contest did you?"

"My what now?"

"Oh dear, you do seem a bit beside yourself today. I'm not just referring to your choice of clothing by the way."

"Ok... is everyone in on this? Did Rachel just convince the whole school to fabricate this elaborate ruse to mess with me? Because if that's the case I want you to tell her that it's not cool. And I'd also like to mention that school staff deceiving students like this isn't exactly befitting either."

Maxine walked on, growing increasingly frustrated, leaving the hipster-looking Mr. Jefferson behind looking rather baffled. She couldn't believe that someone like him would play along with this deception.

Then she spotted Courtney chatting with Taylor and immediately had a sneaking suspicion. Maxine knew from the start that Courtney had something against her being a member of the Vortex Club. Could she be behind this? She had to find out and approached them.

"Hey, Courtney, can I talk to you for a second?", she asked.

"Sure, excuse me, Taylor.", she responded.

So far so good. It seems Maxine found her in a good mood for once.

"Look, I know you guys like to have fun, but seriously, this has to stop.", Maxine said directly, not wasting time dancing around the problem.

"Max, worry no more. We have learned our lesson."

"What do you mean you learned your lesson? I'm still being subjected this whole charade!"

"Charade? I thought you were talking about Kate. Look, I'm sorry that happened, even Victoria is having regrets about putting up that video. She told me not to spread that around, but you know what? You deserve to know."

"Video? Kate? What are you on about?"

"I don't know, what are _you_ on about?'

"I'm talking about everyone acting weird and out of place. Also, since when do you take orders from Victoria? The Vortex is practically yours."

"Ha! I wish Max. No, it's entirely Nathan's and Victoria's gig and everyone knows that. Well, except you apparently... somehow."

"This is getting weirder by the minute, what is happening?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Max. Though I did put you on the guest list for the End of the World party, so you can have some fun with us. Remember to let me know when you wanna do that fashion makeover."

"Makeover? Now you are speaking my language, yes, please! I need an entirely new wardrobe after today!"

"Cool, see you around."

"Later, I guess."

Never in all the time she had known Courtney had she been so nice to her. What did she talk about? A video? About someone named Kate? Maxine started to think something was wrong with the world. Either that or she was going insane.

* * *

Then, her phone buzzed, she had received messages. With no way to bypass the lock screen, all she could see were the previews, which all seemed to be from the same contact, whose name she couldn't make out. Thankfully, at least those previews were legible.

 _"hey man"_

 _"i suck again"_

 _"sorry i got in your face today and took out my bullshit rage on my best friend"_

What was this about? Could these be from Rachel? With no way to respond, that's all she had to go on. After several minutes, she received yet another set of messages.

 _"crickets... i know i really fucked up now"_

 _"listen... i can help you. lets do an all-nighter and go detective mode to figure this out"_

 _"i will swing by and pick you up"_

Finally, some answers were coming her way. Rachel better have an explanation for all of this. including her uncharacteristically poor grammar.

Maxine made her way to the parking lot, assuming that this was the best place to wait. Looking around she noticed something weird. Rachel's car was here!

She walked over and peeked inside, but there was no one to be seen. She tried the doors to no avail either. She then realized something. If Rachel's car was here... then who was it that messaged her just now if they weren't here? Eventually, she decided to sit down on the curb to wait.

* * *

The minutes ticked by. Eventually, Maxine saw an old rusty and banged up truck make its way into the parking lot. She saw someone exit the vehicle, but it wasn't Rachel. Paying no further mind, she kept thinking about this whole event. How did she go from sitting outside to being in her room in an instant? Did someone drug her to knock her out only to set all of this up? It sounded ridiculous.

The sound of approaching boots caught her attention. Whoever it was that just arrived here had walked right over to her.

"Man, are you still giving me the cold shoulder? Look, I'm sorry for what I said... this has just been a rough day for me.", she could hear the person say. The voice sounded strange, yet familiar.

She looked up and beheld a tall girl decked out in punk clothing, including studded bracelets, a triple bullet necklace and bright blue hair wearing a beanie.

"Wait a minute... I know you!", Maxine exclaimed upon recognizing who it was.

"Uh... why are you being so weird?"

"You are... is that you Chloe?!"

"Last I checked. What's gotten into you?"

"Oh my god, I thought I'd never see you again!"

Maxine got up and threw her arms around her old friend. It had been way too long that they had spoken to one another.

"Easy there, Mad Max, no groping in public!"

"It's so good to see you!"

"You are acting like you haven't seen me in ages, what's wrong?"

"Everything is fucked up!"

"Yeah, I know. Why do you think I wanna leave this place in the dust?"

"You don't understand. It's like everyone has gone fucking bonkers! First, my wardrobe was taken and replaced, then Victoria blew me off and then it turns out my girlfriend is gone!"

Chloe chuckled.

"Your _girlfriend_ huh? I wonder, who might that be?", she said playfully. "I mean, you _did_ give me a kiss this morning..."

"What? No! I'm talking about Rachel!"

Immediately Chloe's expression had changed.

"I must have misheard you there, can you say that again?"

"Rachel Amber. I can't find her! I've been looking everywhere! Her damn car is right there!", Maxine shouted, pointing at the old blue hatchback that was parked nearby.

Chloe examined the car for herself.

"Uh, sorry to burst your bubble, but Rachel never had a car. Unless that's something else she hid from me. Also... _girlfriend?!_ Is there something I should know about, Max?"

"Maxine, never Max."

"Whatever. Go on."

"You don't know this... but Rachel and I had known each other for years. I met her online ages ago and when I moved here we got... more serious."

"You have _got_ to be fucking kidding me."

"No, I'm not. Now she is just gone... I don't know what to do. What happened?!"

Chloe seemed angry but also took a moment to think this over.

"Maxine, listen to me. You couldn't have been with her, you never met. She disappeared before you even moved here, you told me so yourself."

"What? But I haven't seen you since the day I left for Seattle!"

Chloe's face suddenly took on a very concerned look.

"Let's try something.", she ended up saying, picking up a rock from the ground and then letting it fall back down.

"Do a rewind like you always do, move that rock back into my hand."

"You want me to do what?"

"Fuck... I knew it!", Chloe exclaimed. "I asked you that to see how you would respond. And clearly, I was right. You aren't Max, are you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about!"

"That's exactly the problem here."

"I... I seriously don't know what the hell is going on anymore."

"Maxine, let me ask you a few questions."

"Ok... if that helps."

"You say you know Rachel? What's her earring?"

"A blue feather, dangling from her left ear."

"What is her greatest passion?"

"She loves acting. I like seeing her perform on stage."

"What color are her eyes?"

"Hazel. I always find myself staring into them."

"What did she say about the stars?"

"That they are dead and all lies, yet beautiful at the same time."

"I'm stumped. I knew you could have only known two of those."

"I miss her... where is she?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out for months. We were both doing research earlier and that's when we got into a fight."

"Chloe... that word is something Rachel used all the time. Also, you speak to me as if we had met before today. What is it I'm missing here?"

Maxine was told a summary of recent events. Chloe spoke about a vision she supposedly had and the ability to rewind time. She claimed that Rachel was her girlfriend until she disappeared, apparently having gone behind her back with someone named Frank before this happened.

"I'm a time traveler?", she asked dumbfounded.

"I have seen enough to be convinced. But apparently, something happened since we last saw each other. You seem like someone else now, with different memories or something."

"And you claim Rachel was with you?"

"She was, we've been together for years. She never mentioned you. In fact, she didn't even know you until I brought you up."

"This is fucked up. How can we both have been with the same lover?"

"I have a theory, but it's shaky at best."

"At this point, I will accept _any_ explanation.", Maxine said.

"After I dropped you off, you must have done something that either replaced your memories with new ones somehow or..."

"Or what?"

"You are from somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?"

"Dude, I watch sci-fi stuff you know? Timelines? Alternate universes? That kind of shit."

"You are telling me that I'm from another freaking _universe_?!"

"It's the best I got. Come on, get in the truck, it's getting dark."

* * *

Maxine rode shotgun with Chloe and they went on their way to the Price residence.

"Everything seems different.", Maxine remarked.

"I'm trying to piece together what you might have attempted that caused this. To do this, I need your knowledge though. You and I had a heated conversation before we parted."

"What was it about?"

"I complained about my stupid life, just more aggressively than I usually do. Let me ask you if you were to help me somehow, like if you had a way to make my life better than it was, how would you do it?"

"I'm not sure, what is there that would be worth changing?"

"Well, I got a horrible stepdad for one, I wouldn't mind him being erased from existence."

"Wait a second? Stepdad?"

"Yeah, David the Dicktator drill sergeant from hell."

"Chloe... what happened to William?"

"What do you mean what happened to him? You were there when..."

Suddenly, Chloe stopped the truck to the sound of screeching tires on the side of the road.

"Maxine! Is my dad alive as far as you know?", she asked, facing her with a dead-serious expression.

"He is. That's why I was surprised you mentioned a stepdad. He even messaged me on your old phone number."

"Maxine, did you go to the past to save his life?"

"I don't know, all I know is that one moment I was waiting on Rachel while hanging with the Vortex and then I appeared here."

"Well... it didn't work, he's still dead. And now you are here and you know nothing about us or anything."

"Don't be mad at me, please. I had nothing to do with coming here!"

"I know, you are just a victim of your counterparts shortsightedness. Damn it, Max, what the fuck did you do?", Chloe muttered to herself.

"Sounded like she was just trying to help you."

"And _you_ still can. Help me find Rachel. But she is _mine_ , just so we are clear on that."

"Ok, maybe then I can finally understand just what I got myself into."

"We won't know until we find her. Together."


End file.
